The 2024 NFL Draft packed plenty of star power into the first round, and that has made the whole exercise ripe for second-guessing. With Caleb Williams, Drake Maye and Jayden Daniels headlining the top of the board, the class already had enough intrigue to fuel a re-draft conversation almost immediately.
For the Vikings, that conversation gets interesting fast.
CBS Sports’ Zachary Pereles went back through the entire first round and reshuffled all 32 picks, and Minnesota’s two first-round selections took a different shape in his version. Instead of J.J.
McCarthy at No. 10 and Dallas Turner at No. 17, Pereles has the Vikings landing Cooper DeJean at 10 and Zach Frazier at 17.
That’s a notable shift for a team that used both picks on big swings in the actual draft. McCarthy, taken 10th overall, is described here as a massive swing and a miss, while DeJean - drafted 40th overall - would give Minnesota a defensive piece in the top 10. Even so, the source points out that Olu Fashanu or Nate Wiggins were still available and could have made more sense there.
At No. 17, the logic changes a bit. Frazier, who went 51st overall, is framed as a sensible choice for the future. Still, the source notes that Kamari Lassiter would have been a perfect fit for the defense.
That’s the whole appeal of a re-draft: every decision looks cleaner, messier or smarter depending on the eye of the beholder. Pereles’ version gives the Vikings a different defensive haul, but it also shows just how subjective these exercises can be.
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