There is little doubt that the Minnesota Vikings need to come up with their next quarterback in the 2024 draft. Just who that quarterback will be has yet to be determined.

The quarterback choice will undoubtedly be the most important decision the Vikings make over the upcoming draft weekend, but it will not be their only one. In addition to having two first-round picks that may be parlayed into that quarterback choice, the Vikings also have two fourth-round selection, two fifth-round selections, one sixth-round choice and two more picks in the seventh round.

As they prepare for the draft, the Vikings don't have second- or third-round selections. That could change as the draft proceeds if general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah can acquire choices for those key rounds.

The Vikings are long shots to win the Super Bowl in 2024, checking in with odds of +5000 according to Top10Casinos.ca, but making the correct selections in the 2024 Draft could improve those odds quite a bit.

QB choice comes first for Vikings

This is the position that has been discussed since the end of the 2023 season. It came into crystal clear focus at the start of free agency when former starter Kirk Cousins left the team and signed a four-year deal with the Atlanta Falcons.

Shortly thereafter the Vikings signed veteran Sam Darnold to serve as their team's stop-gap quarterback. The Vikings are hoping that Darnold can play competently if their quarterback selection in the draft is not ready to play right away.

However, the hope is that the Vikings will use their two first-round selections (No. 11 and 23) to select a viable quarterback in the first round. If the quarterback is North Carolina's Drake Maye or LSU's Jayden Daniels, the Vikings may have to add a future first-round draft choice from the 2025 or 2026 Draft. If the selection is Michigan's J.J. McCarthy, the belief is that this year's two selections may be enough to secure his services.

If Adofo-Mensah is willing to select Michael Penix of Washington or Bo Nix of Oregon to be the next quarterback, the Vikings may not have to trade up. Instead, they could possibly get one or the other with the No. 11 pick and use the No. 23 pick to select a defensive player or perhaps trade down to get second- and third-round selections.

The belief is that the choice will be Maye or McCarthy, and that means their next picks would come in the fourth round.

Fourth- and fifth-round selections for Vikings

The Vikings have two fourth-round picks, coming at the No. 8 and No. 29 spots. They have multiple needs on both sides of the ball, but finding a solid interior defensive lineman may be their biggest need in this draft outside of the quarterback position.

One of those fourth-round picks could be used on defensive tackle DeWayne Carter of Duke, who checks in at 6-3 and 300 pounds. He had an impressive season in 2022 when he had 36 tackles, 11 tackles for loss and 5.5 sacks.

The second fourth-round choice could be used on running back Audric Estime of Notre Dame. He was a workhorse for the Fighting Irish, rushing for 1,341 yards and 18 touchdowns last season. The 6-1, 215-pound Estime has the power to run between the tackles and pick up key first downs when his team needs to run out the clock in the fourth quarter.

With their picks in the fifth round, the Vikings could be interested in edge rusher Xavier Thomas from Clemson and offensive guard Matt Goncalves from Pittsburgh. Thomas checks in at 6-2 and 270 pounds and he is coming off a season in which he had 25 tackles, 3.0 sacks, 1 forced fumble and 1 fumble recovery last season. Goncalves could give the Vikings some much-needed depth among their interior offensive linemen.

Sixth- and seventh-round choices

The Vikings could use their sixth-round choice to select cornerback Jarrian Jones of Florida State. The cornerback position has been a constant position of need for the Vikings for several seasons, and Jones had 25 tackles, 3 interceptions, 3 passes defensed, 1 forced fumble and 1 fumble recovery last season for the Seminoles. If the Vikings don't believe Jones is fast enough to play corner, he is savvy enough to add depth to the safety position.

Seventh-round picks don't usually garner many headlines, but talented front offices are often able to find quality players who come in the last round of the draft. There are not throwaway picks for the Vikings and wide receiver Cornelius Johnson of Michigan and Wyoming offensive tackle Frank Crum could be decent selections.

Johnson has excellent size at 6-3 and 211 pounds, and he caught 32-499-6 in 2022 for the Wolverines and he followed that with 47-604-1 last year. Adding quality depth at the OT position is something that always has to be considered in the draft, and Crum may fill the bill.