After a wild Round 1 of the 2024 NFL Draft for the Minnesota Vikings, fans were faced with a Friday night where the team didn't make a single pick in the second and third rounds. Thankfully, they were active on Day 3 in Detroit.
The Vikings owned two picks in the sixth round, No. 177 overall (acquired via trade from the Jacksonville Jaguars) and No. 203 overall (acquired from the New York Jets) were both available to the purple and gold.
Although many of the more well-known prospects were selected earlier in the draft, gems and contributors as well as project players can be found in the late rounds of the NFL Draft and become solid players for many years.
So, what did Minnesota do with those picks? Here is a rundown of what happened in the sixth round for the Vikings.
Minnesota Vikings add two prospects in Round 6 of the 2024 NFL Draft
Minnesota had the first pick of the sixth round, which was originally owned by the Carolina Panthers but acquired when the Vikings traded up on Thursday to select Dallas Turner at No. 17 overall. Fans waited patiently to see what the team would do with this pick.
Adding to the offensive line was the direction the team went with their first sixth-round pick. Staying at No. 177 overall, the Vikings selected Oklahoma offensive lineman Walter Rouse. He played left tackle for the Sooners and is known to have a bit of a mean streak.
Although Minnesota has two quality offensive tackles, it never hurts to add more talent to the trenches. Standing six-foot-six and weighing 313 pounds, Rouse has a player comparison of Cameron Fleming from Lance Zierlein of NFL.com.
Rouse only played one year at Oklahoma where he played in 13 games and earned Honorable Mention All-Big 12 Conference honors and was a finalist for the William V. Campbell Trophy for his play at left tackle and work outside of football.
The Vikings also owned the rights to pick No. 27 in Round 6. This pick was originally owned by Houston but made its way to Minnesota when Minnesota traded up one spot to ensure they landed quarterback J.J. McCarthy at No. 10 overall.
Once again, Minnesota stood firm and made their selection at No. 203 overall. This time they added a player Sketch could love, Alabama kicker Will Reichard, who will compete with John Parker Romo for the job this season.
Reichard played five years at Alabama where he connected on 84 of his 100 field goal tries and 295 of 297 extra point attempts. In 14 games for the Crimson Tide , he connected on 88 percent of his field goals and didn't miss a single extra point.
Racking up a ton of honors in 2023, Lance Zierlein of NFL.com projected Reichard to be a fifth round selection at the 2024 NFL Draft. It was expected that the Minnesota Vikings would bring in competition at kicker for Parker Romo but it was hard to know if it would be during the draft or with an undrafted free agent.