https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2022/05/16/nfl-10-billion-franchise-jerry-jones-fmia-peter-king/Rationalisation of those Vikings draft day moves from Peter King:
A Vikings Gambit
Shame on me for not writing about this in the last two columns, but I wanted to get to it while it still matters. I think one of the most interesting things that happened in the draft was a rookie GM—with a team that’s a sneaky threat to go deep into the playoffs—trading in the first round with a team in his own division, then trading in the second round with another team in his division. And both of those division rivals picked receivers who could haunt the Vikings.
So why do I think Kwesi Adofo-Mensah did the right thing for his franchise? It’s arguable that one day he’ll regret trading down from 12th overall to 32nd with Detroit, allowing the Lions to pick Alabama receiver Jameson Williams. It’s arguable, but probably to a lesser degree, that he’ll regret trading down with Green Bay at 34 and handing the Packers wideout Christian Watson.
It comes down to this: The Vikings started the draft with two picks in the top 70. By the time day two was over, they’d made four picks in the top 70. And they were able to, in Adofo-Mensah’s words, “do more about the basket of problems we were trying to solve” than if they’d sat at 12 and picked, for example, Notre Dame safety Kyle Hamilton. Going down to 32, they got Georgia safety Lewis Cine, then picked Clemson corner Andrew Booth Jr., at 42, LSU guard Ed Ingram at 59 and Oklahoma linebacker Brian Asamoah at 66.
But Adofo-Mensah knows his first draft, and his rep locally, will be attached in part to Jameson Williams and Christian Watson.
As Adofo-Mensah said Friday, “I don’t know you’re not supposed to trade within the division, but I think you need to be delicate about it. It’s an uncomfortable position. I don’t think I would trade Justin Jefferson in the division. But a draft pick is an uncertain thing. You’re getting something back that is also uncertain. With Detroit, all else being equal and I had similar value somewhere else, I’d deal somewhere else. But that was our best option, we pulled the trigger, and I’m happy with what we did.
“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. 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.”
So 32 was Cine, a highly regarded player at a need position. At 34, Adofo-Mensah said he probably would have taken Booth, the Clemson corner, but then the Packers called, offering 53 and 59 for the 34th pick.
Did Adofo-Mensah want to give Green Bay a fleet receiver with size? No. “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.”
The Vikings took the 53rd pick and moved back up 11 spots in a trade with Indianapolis to get Booth at 42. Then Adofo-Mensah filled two other holes, guard and linebacker, at 59 and 66.
The math says Minnesota started the day with 12 and 47 and, with other picks being involved, turned those into four need players at 32, 42, 59 and 66.
Adofo-Mensah is happy, even if some of his fans are not. He said 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?!”
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. 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.
