Vikings 2024 draft pick #17 : Alabama OLB Dallas Turner

All that day 3 work when they started with oodles of late picks... I had a feeling this draft would be about day 1 this year Legion. Somehow the Vikings kept the #108... 

I’ve been very critical of Kwesi, but this was the GM I’ve mostly been hoping for from a draft perspective.

I love that we mostly sat tight and didn’t overpay and let the draft come to us. I think JJ was # 2 on our QB board. He’s got legit concerns… but so did every QB we could have selected. I think the move from 11-10 was maybe not necessary, but with Penix off the board, I understand the move to secure you didn’t get stuck with Nix. I think on paper JJ was the best fit for our scheme and is the best X/O QB in this draft. Very happy today… but he’s got to prove he’s the player they think he is.

The move up to 17 for Turner was bold and unexpected. The cost was high, but Turner should have been a top 6 pick. So if you look at it as moving from 23 to 6 at the cost of a 4th and 5th it’s a hell of a steal. Only way thing that complicates this move is we still could have gotten a really good player at 23 without surrendering anything. Turner has physical attributes that are off the charts and I applaud Kwesi for taking swings at players that could become pro bowl players instead of projects for a change. Again… on paper he killed it, but both these players need to show they can live up to the hype.

Side note… I haven’t watched a ton of Turner as he was never on my radar, but I know the general scouting report. He’s tall, long, large and runs a great 40… but my understanding from watching the draft preview yesterday when they projected him to the Bears at 9 was he’s more of a 4/3 DE. Is this accurate? My only hesitation was in the limited tape I watched when they were highlighting his play is he didn’t seem overly “quick” off the ball. He looked a bit more like Wonnam where he looks slow out of the snap but has decent closing speed as the play extends. Curious what anyone who follows him better thinks?

I’ve been very hard on K to date and I still claim rightfully so, but today was a win… a very big win on paper. I give him a solid A- -B+ only because we spent 6 picks to get 2 players. But overall… well done!

Yeah F Payton.

I feel you either include 2024 #23, OR 2024 #42 and 2025 2nd round.  We used the 2 2nd rounders to get #23. 

IMO NO chance Sean Peyton would not have tried to get JJ.  

McCarthy has been widely considered to be the most coachable prospect in this years draft.  

Either way you can't take the chance.  Give KAM credit for playing pretty good poker early in the draft but if he had sat still and let Denver outmanuever him for McCarthy and guarantee it they tried he would have looked like the complete in over his head fool some say he is.  

Bo Nix is a BIG step down.

Exactly. We'll never know for sure if the move from 11 to 10 was needed, but when you're that close to getting your guy you don't get cute and lose him.

If Payton sniped JJM right under our nose and we had to settle for Nix this board (myself included) would be in total meltdown mode. KAM played it well.

I wish I felt as good about 23 to 17. Please prove me wrong Mr Turner.

Ricky always had a tremendous amount of draft capital and we made the playoffs about once every three years and mostly got our doors blown off early.

With the cap space next year and the rest of the division looking stronger by the day it was time to go bold or go live in the NFCN cellar while saving draft capital. They went bold.