/cdn.vox-cdn.com/photo_images/4534917/130149622.jpg)
Vikings Salary Cap, Extensions, and a Mock (Oh My!)
Apr 12, 2024 16:43:04 GMT -6
Funkytown, Danchat, and 4 more like this
Post by tfundermann on Apr 12, 2024 16:43:04 GMT -6
We are nearly there! The draft is less than 2 weeks away, and I am 2 weeks away from no more draft nightmares. With free agency pretty much done now, I wanted to sit down and go through a few upcoming extensions the team might do yet this offseason. We have all seen the “Vikings to have 100m+ in cap space in 2025” posts, so I wanted to breakdown these extensions and how they can/will affect the cap space for the team in the next couple of years. The main extensions we will look at are JJ, Darrisaw, Bynum and Phillips. There is always a chance none of them get an extension this offseason, but I will be a little shocked if at least 2 of them don’t get something done in the coming months. At the very least Darrisaw will have his 5th year option exercised this summer, guaranteeing him a 16.037m salary in 2025.
CURRENT CAP SITUATION
As things sit now, the Vikings have one of the healthiest cap situations in the entire league. In 2025, if all voided contract players walk without an extension they will have around 20m in dead cap on the books. However, I would bet they resign Byron Murphy barring a complete collapse this year, and a Sam Darnold or Aaron Jones extension are within reason if they fit in and play well. Harrison Smith is the only one I doubt comes back. He probably retires next year, and the team finally eats his dead cap of around 9.5m. If he wants to come back for one more year, I wouldn’t say no at the right price.
All of this to say, even in the worst-case scenario that all 4 of those players do leave/retire, the team is currently projected to have 120m in cap space, assuming a salary cap of 280m (10% jump in the cap). They also would be projected to have 200m+ in cap space in 2026 before any extensions or FA signings in 2025. That is as healthy a cap situation as the Vikings have had in YEARS. Now let’s ruin it all with these extensions!
JUSTIN JEFFERSON EXTENSTION
Let’s get the big one done and out of the way. I expect this to happen, and happen relatively soon. If a JJ extension is announced by the end of the month I will not be shocked. At this point, I think it is going to take a similar deal to what Nick Bosa signed last year in terms of guarantees and AAV. The one exception is I do not see JJ signing a 5-year extension. I think best case scenario is he signs a 4-year extension to give him a 5-year contract through 2028. A 3-year extension through 2027 would also not shock me. As for guarantees and AAV, Bosa signed a 5-year 170m deal to give him a 34m AAV. His contract had 122.5m in total guarantees with 88m fully guaranteed at signing. That equates to 72% guaranteed, 51.8% fully guaranteed at signing. Bosa also will be paid just shy of 122m by the end of the 2026 season (30m in cash per year for the first 4 years).
Applying all of this to JJ on a 4-year deal, he needs at least 136m in total value, with 100m in total guarantees and 70m in full guarantees at signing. Let’s make it a 140m total deal on the 4-year extension to put him at the 35m AAV in new money. Will give him a 5-year 160m total deal and easily make him the highest paid WR in history, and the highest AAV contract for a non-QB ever. It would actually put him as the 15th highest paid QB based on new money AAV.
In the end, I give him a 50m signing bonus with 5m of that converted from his 2024 salary. This will raise his cap hit this season by 5m, but considering the cap space we have now, I have no problems with that. Then we give him salaries of 20m, 20m, 15m, and 30m the next 4 years. His entire salary in 2025 is fully guaranteed at signing, half of his 2026 salary is guaranteed at signing with another 10m guaranteed at the beginning of the 2025 season. Finally, I give him another 15m in guarantees in 2027 that vest to fully guaranteed at the beginning of the 2026 season, along with a 10m roster bonus due in the 2027 offseason. This gives JJ 75m in full guarantees at signing with 110m in total guarantees on the new money deal. Would also have him get over 100m in cash by the end of his 3rd year (2026), and practically guarantees he will be with the team through the 2027 season barring a trade.
All in all, this is what it is going to take to keep JJ. Not cheap, but considering he is a top 2 WR (and he isn’t 2nd) in the league and has shown no signs of slowing down, I am just fine with it. This also allows him to get paid well while the team has a rookie contract QB on the books (assuming rookie QB cap hits through 2027). Might have to rework his contract as we get to the 2027 season, but at that point he might be in line for another extension anyways. After this extension, here is where the cap hits would sit for the next few years.
CHRISTIAN DARRISAW EXTENSION
Okay, on to Darrisaw. This will easily be the next big contract after JJ the team has to do. Once those 2 are done there won’t be another big extension until maybe Addison in 2027. There will be some other smaller extensions between now and then, but nothing close to the size of JJ or Darrisaw. Right now, the highest AAV contract in the NFL for LTs in Laremy Tunsil at 25m AAV. Highest total value is Trent Williams at 138m (23m AAV) over 6 years. The true comparison contract though will be Andrew Thomas of the Giants. Last year he signed a 5-year 117.5m extension with 67m in total and full guarantees. For Darrisaw, I think a 5-year 125m extension sounds right. Puts him at the top of the LT market for AAV, and we will work in 70-75m in guarantees to have him top that market as well.
We are going to do a 20m signing bonus to keep the change in cap hit this year minimal. This does mean though we will have to guarantee more salaries in the future. I am going to do 15m base salaries in 2025-2027, then 20m in 2028 and 25m in 2029. Will also add a 5m bonus in each of the next 3 years. We will fully guarantee the 2025 and 2026 salaries, with 10m of the 2027 salary guaranteed at the beginning of the new league year. This gives Darrisaw 50m fully guaranteed at signing between his 2025 and 2026 salaries and the signing bonus. The 5m bonus in 2025 and 2026 are practically guaranteed due to the structure, with another 15m in guarantees in 2027. That brings him a total contract extension of 5-years 125m, 50m fully guaranteed at signing, 60m practically guaranteed, and 75m in total guarantees. The full guarantees are a bit lower than Thomas got, but the practical guarantees are pretty dang close, and the total guarantees are more. Darrisaw will get 80m in new money paid to him by the end of his 3rd year in the extension (2027). Putting him at 26.7m in average annual cash paid during that time frame.
This will raise his cap hit in 2024 by 4m, and gives him cap hits of 24m, 24m, 24m, 24m, and 25m in the extension. Overall, this is probably where he ends up. The only differences might be structure of the guarantees and then the team might try to keep his 2025 cap hit even lower. Teams like to gradually increase cap hits knowing the cap will continue to go up. Easiest way to explain this is 20m in 2024 is 7.8% of the 255m cap. 20m in 2025 is 7.1% of the estimates 280m cap, and just 6.5% of the 310m cap in 2026. All of this to say, don’t be shocked if the Darrisaw cap hits are closer to 15m, 20m, 25m, 30m, 30m over the 5-year extension.
In the end this keeps Darrisaw with the team through the 2026 season without question, and more than likely guarantees him here in 2027 barring a big falling out. Locking up JJ and Darrisaw along with TJ, Addison, and O’Neill through 2026 sounds like a great plan for this offense. If the QB pick this year hits, they will more than likely be getting their extension in 2027 as well. Below is a quick look at the salary cap for the next few years after the Darrisaw and JJ extensions.
CAM BYNUM EXTENSION
The Cam Bynum extension feels like an inevitability this offseason. Would line up perfectly with what they did for Josh Metellus last year. I don’t think it will be super expensive, and should be a pretty short-term deal as well. Metellus signed a 2-year 8m deal last year, and I think we can keep it close, but probably a bit higher in AAV. Let’s do a 3-year 21m deal for him. That puts him at the same AAV as what Geno Stone just got from the Bengals. That feels about right for him.
Geno had just under half of his 2-year 14m deal guaranteed. Let’s keep the guarantees in the first year only for Bynum. We will do a 5m signing bonus and salaries of 3m, 5m, and 7m in 2025-2027. We will fully guarantee the 3m in 2025 and give him a 1m roster bonus in 2026. Keeps his cap hits to just 4.35m in 2025, 7.25m in 2026 and 8.25m in 2027. If this all falls apart for Bynum, he could be cut at the beginning of the 2026 offseason with only 2.5m in dead cap, saving 4.75m.
After these 3 extensions here is where we sit with cap space for the next few years.
HARRISON PHILLIPS EXTENSION
This is the one extension I have no clue if it will actually happen or not. They might like Phillips but understand his age and that they are going to invest heavily in the DT position in the draft and FA the next 2 years. That would make him the odd man out. I still think he is worth an extension as a good not great run stuffing DT. He won’t be crazy expensive considering he is mainly just a run stuffer and will be 28 this season. He got a 3-year 19.5m deal when he signed with the team in 2022 (6.5m AAV). He will probably want the same or even a slight raise on that for his next deal, so we would be looking at a 2-year 15m extension, if I had to guess. That puts him in line with the AAV Javon Kinlaw just got, and A’Shawn Robinson with the Panthers. Robinson just signed a 3-year 22.5m deal with 10.375m guaranteed. I think if we take that deal and shrink it to a 2-year extension we are sitting about right. Good thing is, we can do this extension, keep his cap hit in 2025 fairly low and even save a couple million against the cap this year.
Let’s do a 7m signing bonus with 4m of that converted from his 2024 salary. That will lower his cap hit this year by 1.67m, and keep dead money low if he is cut after 2025 (2.3m). We will do a 5m salary in 2025, and 7m in 2026 with 3m guaranteed in 2025. This gives Harrison 10m in full guarantees at signing, and practically 14.5m guaranteed between 2024 and 2025, with a 7m option year on the end. With this type of deal, I wouldn’t be shocked to see the Vikings add 2 void years on the end of the deal. It would lower the cap hits in 2024-2026 by nearly 1m each year, while adding a 2.8m dead cap hit in 2027 if he walks. The downside of that is it would raise his dead cap charge to 4.2m in 2026 if they cut him. Not sure it is worth those minimal savings.
With all four of these contracts done, here is what the cap looks like moving forward.
Overall, not too shabby. Having 55m in cap space for 2025, and well over 100m for 2026 would be a new look for this team. Keep in mind too, the team could easily push cap hit money down the road even further for JJ and Darrisaw to give this team closer to 70m in cap space next year. They also can extend/restructure O’Neill and TJ to save a good chunk of money. There are multiple cuts next year they can do to save even more that wouldn’t impact the roster all that much (CJ Ham would save 2.6m, Bradbury saves 3.6m, Oliver would save 5.1m).
MOCK DRAFT
I decided why not add a mock draft to the end of this. Tis the time of year! In this mock I am taking the approach they will trade up, but only if Maye is available at #3 or McCarthy is available past #6. Those are the cutoffs I would have for myself, knowing what each will cost to get the player and how I view them talent wise. I will preface all of this by saying I am not a scout, I am not Ron Jaworski and did not watch all the film, I am 100% an arm chair GM. I base all my knowledge on what other people I trust have said about the players, and what Fanspeak has them ranked on their big board. Yes, I will be using the On The Clock from Fanspeak for this mock. PFF has turned on me and just does not have realistic QB rankings and picks at the top of the draft. With all of that, let’s see what we can do!
To start it went Caleb Williams and Jayden Daniels. This is what I would expect to happen based on what everyone is saying. Is there a chance the Commanders take Maye or McCarthy, yes. I just don’t expect that. With that, I would be doing what I can to trade up to #3 to take Maye if we truly think that is the QB the Patriots would draft but are willing to move. I offer the #11, #23, one of our 4ths this year, and a 3rd rounder next year. They unfortunately decline. So here we are, I offer the #11, #23 and next year’s 1st. It is a lot, but if KOC believe Maye can be that next great QB and lead this team for a decade plus, you do this trade every single day. They accept! We are on the clock at #3, and we are taking Drake Maye.
With the trade we are now not back on the clock until pick 8 of the 4th round. When we get on the clock at 108 overall, here is what the top of the draft board looks like.
The main player that stands out to me is Cam Hart. He is a mid-round CB project, that from everything I have seen has all the tools to be a contributor early on. The other positions I would look at are DT and iOL. With none of them being in the top 15-20 on the board, let’s take Hart and hope one of the DTs or iOL we want sticks around for 21 picks. Back on the clock 21 picks later, and we have 2 trade offers.
Neither of these trades really appeals to me so we pass on them. Looking at the big board, there are a couple OL I would consider, and a TE from Iowa because we know they are bound for greatness.
We are not back on the clock until the 22nd pick in the 5th round. With that, I am going to take the TE considering there are still a few iOL on the board I like that should last another round. I might also try to trade up to the top 10 of the 5th round to grab one if needed. Come on down Erick All, you are the next Minnesota Viking.
A nail-bitter at the end, but my guy is still available. I take Drake Nugent, Center out of Michigan here and let him push Bradbury to start. If he can take over the job I feel that much better about the interior of our OL. Back on the clock 10 picks later and we really need to look at the DL to add some help there. A player I have seen go a hair higher in other mocks is sitting there for the taking. DeWayne Carter from Duke is the pick. He is 6’2.5” and weighs just over 300lbs. This teams needs some help at DT, and the more 300lb bodies we can throw at it the better. Scouting says he is really good at run defense and his play strength. Does not get pushed around easily. Not a high-end sack producer, but overall has some tools Flores can work with.
We have the 1st pick in the 6th round so a quick turnaround. My main areas of concern are RB, WR, and more line help on both sides. A draft riser recently has been Khristian Boyd of UNI. I know we just took a DT, but it is easily the biggest hole on the defense as we sit right now. He is another 6’ 2” 300+lb DT. Based on some scouting reports he has some versatility on the interior of the DL, and has some explosiveness on the get off. Between him and Carter, hopefully we have at least serviceable DT play next to Phillips.
Not back on the clock until the middle of the 7th, and the main needs would be WR or RB, and I will probably take a special teamer because it feels like something the Vikings will do this year. On the clock at 232 overall, and here is what the board looks like.
For me, I want to get that specialist and then use our final pick on the WR or RB. I take Tory Taylor and let him compete with Ryan Wright. Wright did not have a great year last year, and as an Iowa fan, I can admit Taylor is amazing! Watching him live, you can just tell he is different. Give him some actual NFL coaching and he could be a great weapon on special teams for a few years.
With our final pick of the draft I want to go WR. The main name that I recognize is Joshua Cephus of UTSA. A 6’3” 185lb WR with over 2,000 yards and 16 TDs in the last 2 years. Had an 85.4 receiving grade according to PFF last year in college as well. Sounds like a good developmental WR to me. Sold.
There we go. Here is the 2024 Vikings Draft Class. Maye is obviously the big one, but some solid darts thrown at the wall later in the draft as well. If Hart, Nugent and one of the DTs can even just be solid backups/role players, this would be a good draft.
Let me know your thoughts on the contracts and mock draft. Mock is definitely not going to appeal to everyone, and I get it. I don’t hate the idea of trading up less to 5-8 to take McCarthy, but I think Maye is a clear tier above JJ. To me that is worth the extra draft capital. I have also said, my favorite QB in this draft is whichever one KOC loves. So if that is JJ and they can get him at 5, do it. If it is Maye and they have to go to 3 to get him, do it. Do whatever it takes (within reason) to get the QB KOC wants. Hope you enjoyed this, and I am sure within a week of posting this I will be proven wrong on at least one of these contract estimates. TF
CURRENT CAP SITUATION
As things sit now, the Vikings have one of the healthiest cap situations in the entire league. In 2025, if all voided contract players walk without an extension they will have around 20m in dead cap on the books. However, I would bet they resign Byron Murphy barring a complete collapse this year, and a Sam Darnold or Aaron Jones extension are within reason if they fit in and play well. Harrison Smith is the only one I doubt comes back. He probably retires next year, and the team finally eats his dead cap of around 9.5m. If he wants to come back for one more year, I wouldn’t say no at the right price.
All of this to say, even in the worst-case scenario that all 4 of those players do leave/retire, the team is currently projected to have 120m in cap space, assuming a salary cap of 280m (10% jump in the cap). They also would be projected to have 200m+ in cap space in 2026 before any extensions or FA signings in 2025. That is as healthy a cap situation as the Vikings have had in YEARS. Now let’s ruin it all with these extensions!
JUSTIN JEFFERSON EXTENSTION
Let’s get the big one done and out of the way. I expect this to happen, and happen relatively soon. If a JJ extension is announced by the end of the month I will not be shocked. At this point, I think it is going to take a similar deal to what Nick Bosa signed last year in terms of guarantees and AAV. The one exception is I do not see JJ signing a 5-year extension. I think best case scenario is he signs a 4-year extension to give him a 5-year contract through 2028. A 3-year extension through 2027 would also not shock me. As for guarantees and AAV, Bosa signed a 5-year 170m deal to give him a 34m AAV. His contract had 122.5m in total guarantees with 88m fully guaranteed at signing. That equates to 72% guaranteed, 51.8% fully guaranteed at signing. Bosa also will be paid just shy of 122m by the end of the 2026 season (30m in cash per year for the first 4 years).
Applying all of this to JJ on a 4-year deal, he needs at least 136m in total value, with 100m in total guarantees and 70m in full guarantees at signing. Let’s make it a 140m total deal on the 4-year extension to put him at the 35m AAV in new money. Will give him a 5-year 160m total deal and easily make him the highest paid WR in history, and the highest AAV contract for a non-QB ever. It would actually put him as the 15th highest paid QB based on new money AAV.
In the end, I give him a 50m signing bonus with 5m of that converted from his 2024 salary. This will raise his cap hit this season by 5m, but considering the cap space we have now, I have no problems with that. Then we give him salaries of 20m, 20m, 15m, and 30m the next 4 years. His entire salary in 2025 is fully guaranteed at signing, half of his 2026 salary is guaranteed at signing with another 10m guaranteed at the beginning of the 2025 season. Finally, I give him another 15m in guarantees in 2027 that vest to fully guaranteed at the beginning of the 2026 season, along with a 10m roster bonus due in the 2027 offseason. This gives JJ 75m in full guarantees at signing with 110m in total guarantees on the new money deal. Would also have him get over 100m in cash by the end of his 3rd year (2026), and practically guarantees he will be with the team through the 2027 season barring a trade.
All in all, this is what it is going to take to keep JJ. Not cheap, but considering he is a top 2 WR (and he isn’t 2nd) in the league and has shown no signs of slowing down, I am just fine with it. This also allows him to get paid well while the team has a rookie contract QB on the books (assuming rookie QB cap hits through 2027). Might have to rework his contract as we get to the 2027 season, but at that point he might be in line for another extension anyways. After this extension, here is where the cap hits would sit for the next few years.
CHRISTIAN DARRISAW EXTENSION
Okay, on to Darrisaw. This will easily be the next big contract after JJ the team has to do. Once those 2 are done there won’t be another big extension until maybe Addison in 2027. There will be some other smaller extensions between now and then, but nothing close to the size of JJ or Darrisaw. Right now, the highest AAV contract in the NFL for LTs in Laremy Tunsil at 25m AAV. Highest total value is Trent Williams at 138m (23m AAV) over 6 years. The true comparison contract though will be Andrew Thomas of the Giants. Last year he signed a 5-year 117.5m extension with 67m in total and full guarantees. For Darrisaw, I think a 5-year 125m extension sounds right. Puts him at the top of the LT market for AAV, and we will work in 70-75m in guarantees to have him top that market as well.
We are going to do a 20m signing bonus to keep the change in cap hit this year minimal. This does mean though we will have to guarantee more salaries in the future. I am going to do 15m base salaries in 2025-2027, then 20m in 2028 and 25m in 2029. Will also add a 5m bonus in each of the next 3 years. We will fully guarantee the 2025 and 2026 salaries, with 10m of the 2027 salary guaranteed at the beginning of the new league year. This gives Darrisaw 50m fully guaranteed at signing between his 2025 and 2026 salaries and the signing bonus. The 5m bonus in 2025 and 2026 are practically guaranteed due to the structure, with another 15m in guarantees in 2027. That brings him a total contract extension of 5-years 125m, 50m fully guaranteed at signing, 60m practically guaranteed, and 75m in total guarantees. The full guarantees are a bit lower than Thomas got, but the practical guarantees are pretty dang close, and the total guarantees are more. Darrisaw will get 80m in new money paid to him by the end of his 3rd year in the extension (2027). Putting him at 26.7m in average annual cash paid during that time frame.
This will raise his cap hit in 2024 by 4m, and gives him cap hits of 24m, 24m, 24m, 24m, and 25m in the extension. Overall, this is probably where he ends up. The only differences might be structure of the guarantees and then the team might try to keep his 2025 cap hit even lower. Teams like to gradually increase cap hits knowing the cap will continue to go up. Easiest way to explain this is 20m in 2024 is 7.8% of the 255m cap. 20m in 2025 is 7.1% of the estimates 280m cap, and just 6.5% of the 310m cap in 2026. All of this to say, don’t be shocked if the Darrisaw cap hits are closer to 15m, 20m, 25m, 30m, 30m over the 5-year extension.
In the end this keeps Darrisaw with the team through the 2026 season without question, and more than likely guarantees him here in 2027 barring a big falling out. Locking up JJ and Darrisaw along with TJ, Addison, and O’Neill through 2026 sounds like a great plan for this offense. If the QB pick this year hits, they will more than likely be getting their extension in 2027 as well. Below is a quick look at the salary cap for the next few years after the Darrisaw and JJ extensions.
CAM BYNUM EXTENSION
The Cam Bynum extension feels like an inevitability this offseason. Would line up perfectly with what they did for Josh Metellus last year. I don’t think it will be super expensive, and should be a pretty short-term deal as well. Metellus signed a 2-year 8m deal last year, and I think we can keep it close, but probably a bit higher in AAV. Let’s do a 3-year 21m deal for him. That puts him at the same AAV as what Geno Stone just got from the Bengals. That feels about right for him.
Geno had just under half of his 2-year 14m deal guaranteed. Let’s keep the guarantees in the first year only for Bynum. We will do a 5m signing bonus and salaries of 3m, 5m, and 7m in 2025-2027. We will fully guarantee the 3m in 2025 and give him a 1m roster bonus in 2026. Keeps his cap hits to just 4.35m in 2025, 7.25m in 2026 and 8.25m in 2027. If this all falls apart for Bynum, he could be cut at the beginning of the 2026 offseason with only 2.5m in dead cap, saving 4.75m.
After these 3 extensions here is where we sit with cap space for the next few years.
HARRISON PHILLIPS EXTENSION
This is the one extension I have no clue if it will actually happen or not. They might like Phillips but understand his age and that they are going to invest heavily in the DT position in the draft and FA the next 2 years. That would make him the odd man out. I still think he is worth an extension as a good not great run stuffing DT. He won’t be crazy expensive considering he is mainly just a run stuffer and will be 28 this season. He got a 3-year 19.5m deal when he signed with the team in 2022 (6.5m AAV). He will probably want the same or even a slight raise on that for his next deal, so we would be looking at a 2-year 15m extension, if I had to guess. That puts him in line with the AAV Javon Kinlaw just got, and A’Shawn Robinson with the Panthers. Robinson just signed a 3-year 22.5m deal with 10.375m guaranteed. I think if we take that deal and shrink it to a 2-year extension we are sitting about right. Good thing is, we can do this extension, keep his cap hit in 2025 fairly low and even save a couple million against the cap this year.
Let’s do a 7m signing bonus with 4m of that converted from his 2024 salary. That will lower his cap hit this year by 1.67m, and keep dead money low if he is cut after 2025 (2.3m). We will do a 5m salary in 2025, and 7m in 2026 with 3m guaranteed in 2025. This gives Harrison 10m in full guarantees at signing, and practically 14.5m guaranteed between 2024 and 2025, with a 7m option year on the end. With this type of deal, I wouldn’t be shocked to see the Vikings add 2 void years on the end of the deal. It would lower the cap hits in 2024-2026 by nearly 1m each year, while adding a 2.8m dead cap hit in 2027 if he walks. The downside of that is it would raise his dead cap charge to 4.2m in 2026 if they cut him. Not sure it is worth those minimal savings.
With all four of these contracts done, here is what the cap looks like moving forward.
Overall, not too shabby. Having 55m in cap space for 2025, and well over 100m for 2026 would be a new look for this team. Keep in mind too, the team could easily push cap hit money down the road even further for JJ and Darrisaw to give this team closer to 70m in cap space next year. They also can extend/restructure O’Neill and TJ to save a good chunk of money. There are multiple cuts next year they can do to save even more that wouldn’t impact the roster all that much (CJ Ham would save 2.6m, Bradbury saves 3.6m, Oliver would save 5.1m).
MOCK DRAFT
I decided why not add a mock draft to the end of this. Tis the time of year! In this mock I am taking the approach they will trade up, but only if Maye is available at #3 or McCarthy is available past #6. Those are the cutoffs I would have for myself, knowing what each will cost to get the player and how I view them talent wise. I will preface all of this by saying I am not a scout, I am not Ron Jaworski and did not watch all the film, I am 100% an arm chair GM. I base all my knowledge on what other people I trust have said about the players, and what Fanspeak has them ranked on their big board. Yes, I will be using the On The Clock from Fanspeak for this mock. PFF has turned on me and just does not have realistic QB rankings and picks at the top of the draft. With all of that, let’s see what we can do!
To start it went Caleb Williams and Jayden Daniels. This is what I would expect to happen based on what everyone is saying. Is there a chance the Commanders take Maye or McCarthy, yes. I just don’t expect that. With that, I would be doing what I can to trade up to #3 to take Maye if we truly think that is the QB the Patriots would draft but are willing to move. I offer the #11, #23, one of our 4ths this year, and a 3rd rounder next year. They unfortunately decline. So here we are, I offer the #11, #23 and next year’s 1st. It is a lot, but if KOC believe Maye can be that next great QB and lead this team for a decade plus, you do this trade every single day. They accept! We are on the clock at #3, and we are taking Drake Maye.
With the trade we are now not back on the clock until pick 8 of the 4th round. When we get on the clock at 108 overall, here is what the top of the draft board looks like.
The main player that stands out to me is Cam Hart. He is a mid-round CB project, that from everything I have seen has all the tools to be a contributor early on. The other positions I would look at are DT and iOL. With none of them being in the top 15-20 on the board, let’s take Hart and hope one of the DTs or iOL we want sticks around for 21 picks. Back on the clock 21 picks later, and we have 2 trade offers.
Neither of these trades really appeals to me so we pass on them. Looking at the big board, there are a couple OL I would consider, and a TE from Iowa because we know they are bound for greatness.
We are not back on the clock until the 22nd pick in the 5th round. With that, I am going to take the TE considering there are still a few iOL on the board I like that should last another round. I might also try to trade up to the top 10 of the 5th round to grab one if needed. Come on down Erick All, you are the next Minnesota Viking.
A nail-bitter at the end, but my guy is still available. I take Drake Nugent, Center out of Michigan here and let him push Bradbury to start. If he can take over the job I feel that much better about the interior of our OL. Back on the clock 10 picks later and we really need to look at the DL to add some help there. A player I have seen go a hair higher in other mocks is sitting there for the taking. DeWayne Carter from Duke is the pick. He is 6’2.5” and weighs just over 300lbs. This teams needs some help at DT, and the more 300lb bodies we can throw at it the better. Scouting says he is really good at run defense and his play strength. Does not get pushed around easily. Not a high-end sack producer, but overall has some tools Flores can work with.
We have the 1st pick in the 6th round so a quick turnaround. My main areas of concern are RB, WR, and more line help on both sides. A draft riser recently has been Khristian Boyd of UNI. I know we just took a DT, but it is easily the biggest hole on the defense as we sit right now. He is another 6’ 2” 300+lb DT. Based on some scouting reports he has some versatility on the interior of the DL, and has some explosiveness on the get off. Between him and Carter, hopefully we have at least serviceable DT play next to Phillips.
Not back on the clock until the middle of the 7th, and the main needs would be WR or RB, and I will probably take a special teamer because it feels like something the Vikings will do this year. On the clock at 232 overall, and here is what the board looks like.
For me, I want to get that specialist and then use our final pick on the WR or RB. I take Tory Taylor and let him compete with Ryan Wright. Wright did not have a great year last year, and as an Iowa fan, I can admit Taylor is amazing! Watching him live, you can just tell he is different. Give him some actual NFL coaching and he could be a great weapon on special teams for a few years.
With our final pick of the draft I want to go WR. The main name that I recognize is Joshua Cephus of UTSA. A 6’3” 185lb WR with over 2,000 yards and 16 TDs in the last 2 years. Had an 85.4 receiving grade according to PFF last year in college as well. Sounds like a good developmental WR to me. Sold.
There we go. Here is the 2024 Vikings Draft Class. Maye is obviously the big one, but some solid darts thrown at the wall later in the draft as well. If Hart, Nugent and one of the DTs can even just be solid backups/role players, this would be a good draft.
Let me know your thoughts on the contracts and mock draft. Mock is definitely not going to appeal to everyone, and I get it. I don’t hate the idea of trading up less to 5-8 to take McCarthy, but I think Maye is a clear tier above JJ. To me that is worth the extra draft capital. I have also said, my favorite QB in this draft is whichever one KOC loves. So if that is JJ and they can get him at 5, do it. If it is Maye and they have to go to 3 to get him, do it. Do whatever it takes (within reason) to get the QB KOC wants. Hope you enjoyed this, and I am sure within a week of posting this I will be proven wrong on at least one of these contract estimates. TF
... and neither is this Chris guy.