NFL.com Hits Vikings with Terrible Draft Grade
The Minnesota Vikings might’ve won 13 games and the NFC North for the first time in five years, but it had little to do with the rookies, according to NFL.com.
Eric Edholm has been handing out 2022 draft grades for the site over the last few weeks, as 2023 draft season officially arrived when Super Bowl LVII ended. And for the Vikings last April, his enthusiasm was low, assigning Minnesota a ‘D’ grade for general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah’s first draft.
NFL.com Hits Vikings with Terrible Draft Grade
Minnesota’s early-round commodities, Lewis Cine (S) and Andrew Booth (CB), didn’t experience much playing time last season because of injury, and that evidently sunk the Vikings mark to Hades.
In the NFC North, the Detroit Lions led the charge per rookie grades as Edholm hit Dan Campbell’s team with a spiffy ‘A-.’ He gave the Chicago Bears a ‘B-” and the Green Bay Packers a ‘C-,’ which wasn’t too much more impressive than the Vikings.
Edholm explained the Vikings grade, “The grade here is heavily weighted to the first-year contributions, which were limited, to say the least. Ingram played nearly double the snaps of the rest of the Vikings’ rookies combined.”
“Brian Asamoah shined late in a very small sample size. Akayleb Evans had a few rough reps in coverage, but has the length and man-coverage chops to possibly vie for a starting spot as early as next season,” Edholm added about the Vikings 2022 draft class.
And this sentiment from the NFL.com author fires up a popular NFL debate — can draft classes be adjudicated one year into service? Cine, Booth, Ingram, Asamoah, Evans, and the others have played in the NFL for four months of gametime — and significantly less for most because of injuries. Regarding impact on the team, yes, Edholm is correct — rookies didn’t contribute much in 2022. But are they doomed long-term? Absolutely not.
Still, some Vikings fans have already labeled the class and certain players a bust, evidently able to grasp enough sample size in one season to call it a debacle. Most NFLers take multiple years to develop — even if they aren’t injured in Year One — but in The Digital Age, folks want rookies to perform marvelous now-now-now.
Edholm was somewhat complimentary, or at least sweet and sour, on right guard Ed Ingram, “The biggest rookie contributor — by far — was Ed Ingram. Although he was humbled as a pass protector, giving up 11 sacks in 2022, Ingram made his mark as a run blocker and showed great durability in starting all 18 games and playing all but two snaps.”
“Will he ever be a Pro Bowler? Perhaps not, but Ingram profiles as a steady, sturdy guard who can start for the next few years,” Edholm concluded.
The Vikings have just four draft picks on the menu for the 2023 NFL Draft, although an extra 5th-Round compensatory pick should be on the way soon for Tyler Conklin’s 2022 free-agent exodus.
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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