Vikings Net Impressive ‘Draft Grade’ from NFL.com

Vikings Net Impressive 'Draft Grade' from NFL.com
Lewis Cine (top left), Andrew Booth (top right), Ed Ingram (bottom left), Brian Asamoah (bottom right)

NFL “draft grades” are a little silly because accomplishments from draft classes cannot be wholly adjudicated until years down the road.

But as a matter of flash-reaction public opinion, draft grades can at least give a pulse on what draft pundits determine in the immediacy of a draft class.

For the Minnesota Vikings and NFL.com, that is an A- grade.

In fairness, 19 teams were given an A- or better designation, so the grading system was quite liberal.

The Vikings used the 2022 NFL Draft to bolster the defense, leaving Rounds 4-7 to add a bit of offensive firepower. Lewis Cine (S), Andrew Booth (CB), and Brian Asamoah (CB) — all defenders — were drafted before Round 4. Then, on Day 3, general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah drafted a couple of potential offensive playmakers in Ty Chandler (RB) and Nick Muse (TE).

Nick Muse
Image from @nick__muse on Instagram.

Adofo-Mensah was highly active and on the phone for every pick. When the event was over, the Vikings didn’t spend a single organic draft pick — all picks were derivatives of trades.

Chad Reuter of NFL.com, who assigned the A- grade, particularly applauded the selection of Cine and Booth, writing, “The secondary needed help and it got two immediate contributors in Cine and Booth, who would have been a first-rounder if not for injuries.”

He scored the first night of the Vikings draft the highest, slapping an A on 1st-Round festivities. Day 2 was an A-, and then a B was the mark for Saturday.

Adofo-Mensah made waves in the first two rounds by trading picks with the Detroit Lions and Green Bay Packers. In-division trading is a taboo topic for fans — that was amplified with a gigantic and collective megaphone — because the fear or cynicism is that the Vikings will always be victimized by the trades.

It's Monday, and the NFL Draft Is Already Getting Funky.
Kwesi Adofo-Mensah

Yet, as of late, trading with the Packers, Lions, or Bears has not haunted the Vikings — not on iota. In fact, the Vikings had tremendous luck dealing with Detroit, a team they’ve traded with five times since 2010.

Regardless, the spoils of the transactions for Minnesota’s foes were Jameson Williams (WR, Detroit) and Christian Watson (WR, Green Bay). So, if either of those men achieves Pro Bowl production, Vikings fans will relentlessly lament being a part of the trades.

For now, though, draft analysts like Chad Reuter don’t see a problem with the moves.

Like all draft grades, dealings, and theories, a full view of the event won’t be illuminated until 2025 or so.


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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