Vikings New GM Signals Old Draft Habit Is Dead
Out with the old, in with the new. That was the mantra for Minnesota Vikings ownership in January regarding the front office and coaching staff. And the hire of Kwesi Adofo-Menah adhered to the motto, especially on Tuesday when the new boss signaled an old Vikings draft habit was dead.
Minnesota is scheduled to select 12th on Thursday night in the 2022 NFL Draft, and Adofo-Mensah hopped in front of reporters on Tuesday to offer some pre-draft insights.
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Among many topics, Adofo-Mensah opined on the past tendency to stockpile lower-round draft picks, a favorite pastime by former general manager Rick Spielman. Since 2017, the Vikings, under Spielman’s leadership, traded for 21 draft picks in the 6th and 7th Rounds.
But that tendency is dead, according to Adofo-Mensah. Stick a fork in it.
Adofo-Mensah said on Tuesday, “There’s no amount of seventh-round picks that will equal the value of the first pick.”
While that is a no-brainer for regular folks and other NFL franchises, it needed to be announced by the Vikings. Spielman added late-rounders with fury, so onlookers of the team are accustomed to the practice.
With Adofo-Mensah in charge, the new executive preaches value — seemingly every time he speaks in public — and this can be considered the “analytics” approach he brings to football, although he isn’t a fan of that specific term.
Even so, Adofo-Mensah inherited four draft picks in the 2022 draft with 6th-Round-or-lower destination. He’ll have to spend them organically or package them for a deal targeting upward draft mobility. Why? Because based on his Tuesday quote, the man does not value 7th-Rounders like Spielman. In fact, there may not be a general manager alive who sought late-round picks more than Spielman.
Adofo-Mensah’s commentary from Tuesday is yet another example of a new age for Vikings football. Fans must adjust from the “old way” of thinking — defense always, late-round pick fetishes, etc. — to a great unknown. Adofo-Mensah could waltz to the podium in three days, draft a quarterback, and blow your mind. Or he could conduct two trades in the 1st-Round, tabulating more draft capital in Rounds 2 and 3. Perhaps he’ll draft another interior offensive lineman with the 12th pick. It’s all a mystery, and there is no precedent — unlike past drafts with Spielman linked to the enterprise for 16 years.
One thing is certain — don’t count on “trading back” repeatedly for 7th-Rounders. That proclivity is on the ash heap of history.
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. He hosts a podcast with Bryant McKinnie, which airs every Wednesday with Raun Sawh and Sally from Minneapolis. His Viking fandom dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ and The Doors (the band).
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