29. Minnesota Vikings - Kenneth Grant, DL, Michigan
The Minnesota Vikings are 2-0 with Sam Darnold at QB, so that should tell you just how good they can be if JJ McCarthy were to turn out to be a franchise passer. We’ll have to wait until 2025 for McCarthy, as he tore his meniscus, so he’s out for the season, but I do truly wonder what the Vikings would do if Sam Darnold legitimately put together a good season and even helped lead the Vikings into the playoffs.
Like seriously, what would they do? There’d be no way they’d just let him walk in free agency, right? Who knows, but the Vikings roster is close, and getting someone like Kenneth Grant at the bottom of the first round would be a very nice draft pick for GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah.
Much of this current era will hinge on McCarthy, but the coaching staff appears to be one of the best in football, and Adofo-Mensah has made some nice draft picks. They also locked-up Justin Jefferson this offseason. Minnesota is trending upward and could truly put the league on notice in 2025 if things go in their direction.
30. Los Angeles Chargers - Jonah Savaiinaea, iOL, Arizona
The Los Angeles Chargers are 2-0, but they’ve only beaten the Las Vegas Raiders and Carolina Panthers, so they really have not had a true test yet. And I’m not sure if the Pittsburgh Steelers would be a true test. It took them the entire game to put away the Denver Broncos in Week 2, so this could be another LA victory, moving them to 3-0.
The Chargers won the Jim Harbaugh sweepstakes and seem to have embraced a certain team culture. They took tackle Joe Alt in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft and could double-down on the offensive line in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft as well. Jonah Savaiinaea would be entering into a pretty stable situation.
He’s currently a tackle, but may end up moving to guard at the NFL level. The Chargers beefing up their offensive line has proven to be the right move thus far in 2024.