Vikings GM Adofo-Mensah Showed His Hand
Janik Eckardt
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The NFL draft for 2024 is just two weeks away, and the Minnesota Vikings have a clear objective in mind—to find a new franchise quarterback. However, this is easier said than done, as it is a daunting task with a high degree of difficulty. If it were easy, then more teams would have already found their franchise quarterback.
Vikings GM Adofo-Mensah Showed His Hand
It might be hard to do, and fulfilling the cost of trading up is risky, but General Manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah has confirmed that he is willing to acquire the right quarterback through the draft. The man in charge of Minnesota’s hopes talked to the media on Thursday and lectured the listeners about the risk of uncertainty about QB prospects.
I think just because something is risky doesn’t mean you have to stay away from it. It is something that is hard to grasp, but if you grasp it, you know what the rewards are. And that is something you have to weigh and measure. You can’t look at these decisions in a vacuum. I think the last couple of years, the results (are out there) of the quarterbacks that were drafted.
We look at those things, we obviously honor them with respect, and we also look at the environment. Are we setting up the person to succeed? So when we talk about those players, it’s not just how good they are; it’s how we get the best version of themselves when they come to the Minnesota Vikings. We set up plans before they walk into the building.
I think our odds will be better than the margins. How good are those odds? I mean, it is still a risky thing, but just because something is risky doesn’t mean you’re scared of it. You just have to believe. It’s uncertain, and we have to take our swing, but that doesn’t give us any pause.
Kwesi Adofo-Mensah
Indeed, a young passer can flourish in Minnesota, undoubtedly in better surroundings than Bryce Young encountered last year in Carolina. T.J. Hockenson, Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, Christian Darrisaw, and Brian O’Neill are five players in the stacked offense who can help a rookie. Having a coaching staff with multiple former professional quarterbacks is also helpful.
Adofo-Mensah has facilitated trades ever since taking over the franchise, for better or worse. It is in his DNA, and his previous job as a Wall Street trader might also have contributed to this. His first deal in the 2022 draft to trade down in the first round flopped, but not because of the trade; he selected the wrong player. Acquiring tight end T.J. Hockenson, on the other hand, was a successful move.
Without any doubt, trading multiple first-round selections might be scary. If the player isn’t any good, it is impossible to stay competitive. However, a quarterback is worth that risk because without having a good passer, it is almost impossible to win a Super Bowl, while teams that employ an elite signal-caller are annual playoff teams.
Adofo-Mensah talked about that element: “That is the hardest part, right? If you get the guy right, and he’s your answer for ten years, there’s no price you probably wouldn’t have paid looking back. You have to go back to the odds of that happening, and that’s the counterplay. Every GM is coming up here and talk, and they would probably say the same thing.”
Adofo-Mensah tried to emphasize that he is not locked in on a quarterback in the draft and is open to drafting a player at a different position; he made it relatively easy to untangle his words. He wants to put a stamp on the franchise by finding the new franchise QB.
The GM smartly evaded the question about how many franchise QBs he thinks are in this draft class because that would obviously hurt his leverage in negotiations. On Minnesota’s wishlist should be four guys. Caleb Williams is expected to be the first overall pick, followed by the trio of Jayden Daniels, Drake Maye, and J.J. McCarthy.
There’s a good chance that one of those guys will join the purple club on April 25. If Adofo-Mensah has made one thing clear, it is that he isn’t afraid of pulling the trigger. A splashy move could happen.
Janik Eckardt is a football fan who likes numbers and stats. The Vikings became his favorite team despite their quarterback at the time, Christian Ponder. He is a walking soccer encyclopedia, loves watching sitcoms, and Classic rock is his music genre of choice. Follow him on Twitter if you like the Vikings: @JanikEckardt
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