Zone Coverage

The Minnesota Vikings hold the 11th-overall pick, along with eight other picks, in the 2024 NFL Draft – but with only two selections in the top 100, most of their value is concentrated in that single Round 1 choice. The volume they have on Day 3 will look good when listing all the selections but might not result in the roster turnover the Vikings will need to continue their rebuild from the Rick Spielman era. The solution to that problem might be to find ways to concentrate more picks in the top 100. Using Fanspeak’s Mock Draft Simulator and an uploaded big board meant to represent the current consensus on NFL draft prospects, I was able to approximate a mock draft that captures that idea. In this scenario, I assume that the Vikings agreed to short-term deals with Kirk Cousins and Jordan Hicks and long-term deals with Danielle Hunter and Justin Jefferson. Abstractly, one might envision a bridge at left guard, whether that was Dalton Risner or someone else. If the Vikings want to maximize their Day 2 returns – where NFL fans tend to argue the value of the draft is, then they can trade down with the 11th pick and trade up with their Day 3 picks. Let’s see what that looks like.