The Vikings went all in and got their quarterback and edge rusher of the future. Whew. As a result, they barely have any 2025 picks. They do have some talented prospects at key positions to build around. J.J. McCarthy and Dallas Turner can be solid NFL players, but the Vikings paid a high price to attain them. Right now, the only top-100 pick they’re slated to have in 2025 is their first-round pick (with at least one third-round compensatory pick coming their way for Kirk Cousins). This better work!
Turner is a great dice roll for an edge rusher prospect. He produced at Alabama, is 21 years old and ran in the 4.4s at the NFL scouting combine. He’s going to be right at home in defensive coordinator Brian Flores’ scheme that will cut him loose up the field and allow him to be a playmaker. He’s a dark horse for a 10-sack rookie campaign.
This is not a bad pick exactly, but McCarthy needs to show more before we can have full confidence that the Vikings got their guy. He has some nice arm talent and had real highs at Michigan, but generally wasn’t asked to be the driver of the offense. McCarthy is going to need seasoning and head coach Kevin O’Connell might be the guy to pull whatever latent potential is sitting there.
The Packers made a ton of draft picks and came out looking pretty good. Their linebacker picks were questionable (although the entire linebacker class was down this year), but they found a potential franchise left tackle in Jordan Morgan at the end of the first round. They took three safeties as well and might have a tough, versatile duo now between Javon Bullard and Xavier McKinney. MarShawn Lloyd is a quality addition at running back while they test Josh Jacobs for at least a season.
This is a good range for Morgan. He needs to add some strength for the NFL, but he’s a classic, pure pass-blocking left tackle who will always have a place in the league. He’s going to face a learning curve getting used to NFL pass rushers and the speed and strength of the game, but this is a quality bet for the Packers to take at the end of the first round.
