Vikings Labeled as Team with 1 of ‘Worst Outlooks’ for NFL Draft
Dustin Baker
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The Minnesota Vikings will embark on general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah’s second draft in 80 days after his first adventure was peppered with controversy.
Adofo-Mensah stepped up to the plate in 2022 — and traded with the Detroit Lions and Green Bay Packers right off the bat, a taboo practice [of trading with division foes]. But the young executive flatly didn’t care, and it’s time to do it all over again in less than three months.
Vikings Labeled as Team with 1 of ‘Worst Outlooks’ for NFL Draft
This time, though, he’ll allegedly battle a bleak draft outlook, defined by Bleacher Report last week. Indeed, the Vikings are one of seven teams with a nasty draft outlook, so Adofo-Mensah must get creative during the event to shed the projection.
Likened to the Baltimore Ravens, BR’s David Kenyon opined about the Vikings 2023 draft prognosis, “Minnesota practically has an identical outlook to Baltimore. Just as the Ravens did, the Vikings sent a second-rounder as the main compensation for a deadline pickup. They moved a second-rounder to NFC North rival Detroit for tight end T.J. Hockenson, also landing a 2023 fourth-rounder in addition to future pick movement.”
For now, Minnesota has just four picks (a 1st, 3rd, 4th, and 5th) in the 2023 NFL Draft, but that number will expand to five when the NFL announces compensatory picks. Because former Vikings tight end Tyler Conklin vamoosed to the New York Jets around this time last year, Minnesota should receive a 5th-Rounder as compensation. Therefore, it’s four picks for now — with one more likely on the way.
Kenyon continued, “For now, the Vikings are listed at 23rd and 87th overall with a trio of Day 3 selections. But after a 2022 draft stacked with six trades, expect Minnesota to bounce all over the board in April.”
And Kenyon is correct with his final sentence. The Vikings employ a general manager with a Wall Street background, showing a fervent tendency to trade. In 2022, no human traded more than Adofo-Mensah during the draft. And there’s no reason to believe he’ll slow down this April.
The Vikings conducted 11 trades in the 2022 calendar year, the second most in the business. If you, the fan, like trades, Adofo-Mensah is the perfect general manager.
Moreover, Hockenson can be legitimately viewed as “this year’s 2nd-Rounder,” as Minnesota traded a 2nd-Round pick from 2023 and a 2024 3rd-Round pick to the Detroit Lions for Hockenson, a 2023 4th-Round pick, and a conditional 2024 4th-Round pick. That’s a move down two rounds in the upcoming draft and one round next — for one of the NFL’s top tight ends.
Couple Hockenson’s presence on the Vikings depth chart, presumably for the next 4-6 years, with Adofo-Mensah’s affinity to stockpile assets via trade — and Minnesota draft outlook doesn’t have to be doomsday.
Kenyon also mentioned the Cleveland Browns, Denver Broncos, Los Angeles Rams, Miami Dolphins, and San Francisco 49ers, in addition to the Ravens and Vikings, as teams with the worst draft outlooks.
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 Sal Spice. His Vikings obsession dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ and The Doors (the band).
All statistics provided by Pro Football Reference / Stathead; all contractual information provided by OverTheCap.com.
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