Post-Draft NFL Power Rankings: Where Do Vikings Stand in League Hierarchy?

The Vikings' future has arrived. Last week, they made J.J. McCarthy the highest-drafted quarterback in franchise history, then traded up later in the first round to add highly-touted edge rusher Dallas Turner. The belief is that those two will complement the core pieces that are already in place, allow for future impact free agent additions during their rookie contracts, and lead the Vikings to title contention in the coming years.

2024, however, might be a transitional year. McCarthy will attempt to beat out Sam Darnold for the starting job in Week 1, but it won't be handed to him if he isn't ready. And while there's plenty of talent on this roster, the Vikings are a bit hamstrung from a financial perspective by the $57 million in dead cap that's on their books for Kirk Cousins, Danielle Hunter, and others. In 2025, that dead cap will be gone and McCarthy will be heading into year two. That might be a more realistic target for the opening of the Vikings' contention window. Then again, who knows what's possible this year?

Let's take a look at various post-draft power rankings from national analysts to see what they thought of the Vikings' draft.

I think I will be the most wrong about the Vikings out of any team. I came out fairly strongly against theJ.J. McCarthy pick, which is a foolish stance given how good Kevin O’ Connell is at tutoring the quarterback position and the fact that McCarthy has two elite wide receivers and a great tight end. If Kwesi Adofo-Mensah hits on McCarthy and Dallas Turner, we could be looking at another GM with offensive and defensive rookies of the year potential. For the record, I hated Houston’s draft a year ago, too, so Adofo-Mensah is in good company.

If J.J. McCarthy is as good as (or even close to as good as) Kirk Cousins, the Vikings will have had the best draft of the year. If he’s not the guy, then Minnesota will have let a solid veteran quarterback leave and then expended a lot of draft assets only to fail to answer the quarterback question. Getting Alabama edge Dallas Turner at No. 17 is a nice touch either way.

There’s a decent case to list the Vikings higher than this, given their targeted, aggressive approach in the draft and a theoretical upgrade at football’s most important position. J.J. McCarthy will continue to face doubters until he proves himself at the pro level, but he landed in the best environment a rookie quarterback could hope for, working with Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, a strong offensive line and -- perhaps most importantly -- Kevin O’Connell. Then again, the Vikings might be fourth right now as a team in their own division. Their aggressive approach, which also helped land pass rusherDallas Turner, forced them to sit out Day 2 of the draft entirely. This isn’t a team that’s yet ready to graduate to the next tier, but it’s also far easier to see them doing so after the draft.

Minnesota got J.J. McCarthy and Dallas Turner in the first round and it's hard to argue against either player. The cost for Turner was heavy. When factoring in the price to get the 23rd overall pick, which was flipped for the 17th pick to get Turner, the Vikings gave up second-, fifth- and sixth-round picks in 2024 and third-, fourth- and sixth-round picks in 2025. Whew. If he's great, then the cost won't be so bad — and if McCarthy is a Pro Bowl quarterback nobody will care about anything else from the 2024 Vikings draft — but that's a lot.

As predicted, they ultimately traded up in the first round ... the difference being, almost no one expected them to do it twice for a pair of players. Of course, everything rides on the bet the Vikes have made on QB J.J. McCarthy – though this team likely won't be anyone's doormat, whether he's thrown into the fire this season or redshirts.

The Vikings can sympathize with the Browns, as they're stuck in the loaded NFC North. QB J.J. McCarthy and edge Dallas Turner each have Rookie of the Year potential for Kevin O'Connell. It will be fun to see every game in this division, especially McCarthy vs. Williams.

The Vikings have already said that they won't rush McCarthy out there. But given that the only thing standing between McCarthy and starting is Sam Darnold, it likely won't be long before the rookie starts a game. Between the growing pains that will come with that and the uncertainty throughout a defense that ranked 24th in the league against the pass in 2023, the Vikings are more likely headed for an also-ran season than a surprise playoff berth.

They landed quarterback J.J. McCarthy with the 10th overall pick, which means it's his team now. It is a good situation for a young quarterback.

The Vikings could be a much better team than this ranking suggests, but it all comes down to quarterback play. Is J.J. McCarthy ready to start right away? And if he is, how good is he? How will Sam Darnold perform if he's tapped to be the starter? It's a really nice roster overall, but the QB spot is just too big of a question mark.