Recap: How the Vikings used five picks on Day 3 of the NFL draft

This is the Star Tribune’s live report of Rounds 4-7 of the 2024 NFL draft. To read our final reports on the Vikings’ Day 3 moves, go here.

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The Vikings entered the 2024 NFL draft with nine picks and ended up making seven, using two of their selections to trade up in the first round to secure players in two of their biggest areas of need. With no picks on Day 2, the Vikings wrapped up their draft by adding five players Saturday. Here’s their 2024 draft class:

Round 1, No. 10: QB J.J. McCarthy, Michigan

Round 1, No. 17: Edge Dallas Turner, Alabama

Round 4, No. 108: CB Khyree Jackson, Oregon

Round 6, No. 177: LT Walter Rouse, Oklahoma

Round 6, No. 203: K Will Reichard, Alabama

Round 7, No. 230: OL Michael Jurgens, Wake Forest

Round 7, No. 232: DL Levi Drake Rodriquez, Texas A&M-Commerce

Complete list of 2024 draft picks

Here’s how Day 3 of the draft played out for the Vikings:

With their final pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, the Vikings selected defensive tackle Levi Drake Rodriguez of Texas A&M-Commerce in the seventh round at No. 232.

Rodriguez (6-foot-1, 269 pounds) was an FCS All-American selection in the city of Commerce, Tex., which lists a population of about 9,000. That’s where he walked on to earn a scholarship after starting his college playing days at Southwestern Assemblies of God, an NAIA program.

Rodriguez had 5.5 sacks last season, offering promise as an interior rusher. The Vikings’ D-line adds another option after signing veterans Jerry Tillery (Raiders) and Jonah Williams (Rams) this offseason, and cutting Dean Lowry.

Rodriguez wasn’t invited to the NFL scouting combine, but the Vikings hosted him at TCO Performance Center on a pre-draft visit, according to Ryan Grigson, the Vikings’ vice president of player personnel.

“This guy is all about work, always has a smile on his face,” Grigson said. “He just brings so much positive energy. I don’t feel like it’ll be too big for him, because he’s just that type of guy who is going to keep working.” — ANDREW KRAMMER

The Vikings went back to the trenches in the seventh round, drafting center Michael Jurgens out of Wake Forest with their first of two final-round picks.

Jurgens won’t be a threat to starting center Garrett Bradbury, but he’ll help provide depth for an offensive line that did not retain guard Dalton Risner or guard/center Austin Schlottmann this offseason. The Vikings signed veteran guard/center Dan Feeney as well.

Jurgens, 24, spent six seasons in college. After the Vikings took experienced left tackle Walter Rouse (52 starts in college), they’re getting another experienced blocker in Jurgens, who started 46 games at center. — ANDREW KRAMMER

If you are keeping score, the Vikings have selected three players so far who were on the Alabama Crimson Tide roster in 2021 and 2022: edge rusher Dallas Turner, cornerback Khyree Jackson and kicker Will Reichard. Jackson played two seasons at Alabama before transferring to Oregon for the 2023 season. Turner and Reichard were on the 2023 Alabama team that lost to new Vikings QB J.J. McCarthy’s Michigan squad in the College Football Playoff semifinal.

We asked for it. The Vikings came through. A kicker! The Vikings made Alabama’s FBS record-setting Will Reichard the first kicker taken in the draft and the second specialist after the Bears took Iowa punter Tory Taylor in the fourth round.

Reichard, the No. 203 overall pick, becomes the favorite to win a training camp battle with John Parker Romo to replace Greg Joseph, who left for Green Bay via free agency. Romo, an undrafted free agent in 2022, has never kicked in an NFL game beyond the preseason. He was signed this offseason after a standout year with San Antonio in the XFL.

Reichard, the SEC Special Teams Player of the Year, made 55 of 55 PATs and 22 of 25 field goals, including 5 of 5 from 50 yards and beyond in 2023. For his career, Reichard made 295 of 297 PATs and 84 of 100 field goals while posting a major college record 547 career points, a school-record 84 field goals made and 10 field goals from 50 yards and beyond.

Whichever NFL newbie wins the kicking job also will have to navigate the league’s new kickoff rules. — MARK CRAIG

With obvious needs at guard, defensive line and (don’t forget about) kicker, the Vikings kicked off the sixth round (177th overall) by selecting Walter Rouse – a five-year starter at left tackle at Stanford and Oklahoma – to address an under-the-radar, but still important, need: A swing tackle to groom behind David Quessenberry, who turns 34 on Aug. 24.

The Vikings like Quessenberry, a player they brought in before last season and then used with some success in four starts and 16 games. He was re-signed to a one-year, $1.9 million deal with $1.4 million guaranteed after the season. But his age behind two reliable starters in Christian Darrisaw and Brian O’Neill is a concern.

The 6-6, 313-pound Rouse started four seasons at left tackle for Stanford, graduated and then transferred to Oklahoma, where he was the starter at left tackle last season. He appears to be the typical Day 3 offensive lineman pick in that he needs to develop NFL strength and work on his position flexibility because his shelf life in the NFL will depend on his ability to back up Darrisaw and O’Neill, and, who knows, possibly give it a go at guard. — MARK CRAIG

Former Gopher Tyler Nubin was the first safety taken in the 2024 NFL draft, selected 47th overall by the Giants in Friday’s second round. Nubin wore No. 27 with the Gophers, but needed to chose a new number in New York. He will honor other Gophers safeties by wearing No. 31.

New Vikings cornerback Khyree Jackson, drafted in fourth round, had a long journey to the NFL. He’ll turn 25 before his first regular season game (The Vikings’ two first-round picks, J.J. McCarthy and Dallas Turner, turned 21 this year). Jackson didn’t play football in ‘17 or ‘18 and said he was Employee of the Month at a Maryland grocery store. “Deli department, cutting ham and stuff,” he said.

Jackson made stops at two community colleges and then joined Alabama in 2021. He was a teammate of Turner before transferring to Oregon for the 2023 season. He was first-team All-Pac 12 selection for the Ducks with three interceptions and seven pass breakups. — ANDREW KRAMMER

Read more about Jackson’s journey to the NFL.

Cornerback, and specifically physical corners who can play man coverage, figured to be a big need for the Vikings before they prepare for their second season with Brian Flores. With their first pick on Saturday, the Vikings wasted no time, addressing that need with the No. 108th overall pick in the fourth round.

Khyree Jackson, the cornerback they selected from Oregon, is a 6-foot-3 corner who ran a 4.5-second 40 and has shown he isn’t afraid to challenge receivers. That’s what the Vikings want from their corners this year, and it’s why I had them taking Jackson with this pick in my mock draft this week.

He showed at Oregon he isn’t afraid to play the run, and should be a solid fit in a Vikings defense that wanted more physicality from its corners. Jackson should compete with Akayleb Evans, Mekhi Blackmon and Andrew Booth Jr. opposite Shaq Griffin in the Vikings’ nickel package — BEN GOESSLING

The Vikings had traded away their second- and third-round picks in the 2024 NFL draft, so they sat out the action on Friday night after taking J.J. McCarthy and Dallas Turner in the first round on Thursday. With five picks in the final four rounds of the draft on Saturday, they’ll try to address some of their remaining needs.

The biggest needs could be on defense, where the Vikings could again use help at cornerback and defensive tackle. They’ve taken three corners in Kwesi Adofo-Mensah’s first two drafts, but might look for another option on Saturday. The Vikings could also use interior pass rush, as well as a run stopper in the middle of their defensive line.

On offense, it wouldn’t be a surprise if the Vikings look for another running back to compete with Ty Chandler for work behind Aaron Jones. And they could use a late-round pick on a tight end with T.J. Hockenson still recovering from knee surgery in February. — BEN GOESSLING

Read the recap of the Vikings’ first round.