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Feelings be damned.
Minnesota Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah‘s draft strategy illicited a strong reaction from fans as one of the most polarizing and widely discussed drafts in the NFL.
A former day trader with an affinity for analytics, Adofo-Mensah traded back twice in the first two rounds and enabled division rivals to select wide receivers in the process. But by making those trades, Minnesota siphoned additional draft capital away from rivals who could have very well still landed those receivers.
Had he not made those trades, Adofo-Mensah said he would have been merely “saving face” with the fan base. He instead weighed options with his staff and turned two selections in the top-70 picks into four players who have the potential to make an immediate impact this season.
Adofo-Mensah dove deep into the decision-making process with NBC Sports’ Peter King, who took a liking to the Vikings general manager’s draft strategy.
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KAM: Feelings Shouldn’t Get in the Way of Improving the Team
In King’s May 16 edition of Football Morning in America column, Adofo-Mensah quickly tossed the sentiments of trading with a division rival to the side.
Adofo-Mensah traded the 12th pick to the Detroit Lions, allowing the Lions to draft Alabama receiver Jameson Williams in exchange for the 32nd and 34th overall picks. He also traded the 34th pick with the Green Bay Packers, allowing the Vikings’ border rival to select North Dakota State receiver Christian Watson.
However, by making those trades, Adofo-Mensah, in his words, did “more about the basket of problems we were trying to solve” than if the Vikings sat with the 12th pick and selected, for example, Notre Dame safety Kyle Hamilton. Trading down allowed Minnesota to select Georgia safety Lewis Cine at No. 32, Clemson cornerback Andrew Booth Jr. at No. 42, LSU guard Ed Ingram at No. 59 and Oklahoma linebacker Brian Asamoah at No. 66.
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But how those players perform won’t nearly have the biggest say on the Vikings general manager’s first draft. The magnifying glass will be on Williams and Watson pan out — and Adofo-Mensah knows the cameras will be on him if those receivers score against the Vikings.
“I’m not dumb. I know every touchdown catch [Williams] scores against us, TV will show me or show my name. That’s life. If my feelings are going to get in the way of us making decisions to improve the team, I shouldn’t be in this seat,” Adofo-Mensah told King. “I made the decision because I’m in charge, but it’s more fair to say WE made the decision as an organization. The [draft] room was behind what we were doing … Detroit had [picks] 32 and 34, and we were targeting those picks for specific reasons.”
Those two picks Adofo-Mensah could have used to draft Cine, whom the Vikings had a first-round grade on, and Booth, who was projected a first-round pick but fell due to his injury history. Adofo-Mensah added that he was content with sticking and picking Booth at No. 34, but when the Packers called offering the No. 53 and No. 59 pick, he knew if he did not take the deal another team might.
“You’re a little terrified that Aaron Rodgers is gonna get that player, but it was actually the easier decision of the two,” Adofo-Mensah said. “You knew specifically what Green Bay was doing. They’re trying to be good this year. There was a different calculus to that conversation. But what we knew was, if Green Bay called any team after us and offered that deal, they’d have fallen all over themselves to take it. So Green Bay would have gotten the same player, and we wouldn’t have gotten the assets for it. If I didn’t do it, it’d just have been about saving face with the media.”
Adofo-Mensah took the 53rd pick and used it to trade up in the second round to pick Booth at No. 42. In the end, the Vikings started the day with the 12th and 47th picks and turned those into picks at No. 32, No. 42, No. 59 and No. 66.
King Says KAM Made Right Decision to Make Vikings a ‘Sneaky Threat’ in the Postseason
In a draft that was considered to be heavy with talent on the second day of the draft due to “super seniors” who had an extra year of college eligibility by opting out of the 2020 pandemic season, Adofo-Mensah opted for more swings at the plate to get on base than going for a home run with the No. 12 pick.
However, Adofo-Mensah knows the local scope of trading with a division rival will have its detractors. He told King that after the draft, he went to a Twins game and at a bar afterward, a couple of fans said, “How’d you trade with Green Bay?!”
But from a broader perspective, King believes Adofo-Mensah made the right decision with a Vikings roster that needed immediate contributors at a handful of positions but has a chance to be a “sneaky threat” to go deep in the postseason.
“Maybe Adofo-Mensah should have just sat where he was and taken, say, Kyle Hamilton and Ed Ingram. This is just me, but knowing what I know and the alternatives the new GM had, I’d have been disappointed if he just sat and picked,” King wrote. “Williams could turn out to be a great receiver and he could torment the Vikings, but if three of those four players become valued starters over the next four to five years, it’s a win for Minnesota.”
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