Recapping the Vikings’ Disastrous 2022 Draft Class
On Tuesday, the Minnesota Vikings parted ways with LB Brian Asamoah.
The move meant yet another player from Minnesota’s 2022 draft class is no longer on the roster and leaves just two players from the class still with the team three years later.
Here is a recap of what happened with every pick from that Vikings draft class, which was Kwesi Adofo-Mensah’s first as Minnesota’s general manager.
R1, P32: S Lewis Cine (Waived)
Lewis Cine was Minnesota’s first round pick in 2022 after a trade down with the Detroit Lions that gave Minnesota Nos. 32 (Cine), 34 (traded to GB), and 66 (Brian Asamoah) in exchange for the 12th overall pick, which was used on WR Jameson Williams.
Cine never carved a role out for himself on the Vikings’ defense, and his rookie season was further derailed after a compound leg fracture ended his year and lingered into 2023. After he continued to struggle throughout the 2024 training camp, Minnesota ultimately waived him after just two seasons.
Cine ended up with the Buffalo Bills in 2024, playing a single game. This offseason, the Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles signed the Georgia product, marking just the latest Bulldog defender to head to Philly.
R2, P42: CB Andrew Booth (Traded)
Andrew Booth’s story in Minnesota went very similarly to Lewis Cine’s. He was selected with the 42nd overall pick by the Vikings after the team traded Nos. 53 (WR Alec Pierce), 77 (IOL Bernhard Raimann), and 192 (TE Andrew Ogletree) to the Indianapolis Colts in exchange for Nos. 42 (Booth) and No. 122 (traded to LV).
Once he joined the Vikings, Booth also found it very difficult to garner a consistent role with the team, and he too lost the remainder of his rookie season after a meniscus injury. The worst part was the injury happened when he finally made his first start of the season against the Buffalo Bills.
Booth would play all 17 games in 2023 making another start against the Detroit Lions in Week 18. Ultimately though, his play did not convince Minnesota to keep the cornerback around. The Vikings ended up cutting him prior to the start of the 2024 season, and he ended up signing with the Dallas Cowboys.
Booth played seven games last season in Dallas and made two starts. He hopes to gain more playing time this season for the Cowboys.
R2, P59: G Ed Ingram (Traded)
Ed Ingram came to the Vikings as a result of another trade, this time with the Green Bay Packers. Green Bay traded Nos. 53 (traded to IND in Andrew Booth trade) and 59 (Ingram) to Minnesota in exchange for No. 34 (WR Christian Watson).
Due to massive needs on the interior of Minnesota’s offensive line, Ingram immediately became a starter in Minnesota. He started all 17 games during his rookie season, but he underwhelmed as a blocker, totaling a 57.0 PFF grade.
Despite hope from fans that the second-round pick could eventually turn into a salvageable starter, Ingram continued to underwhelm in both 2023 and 2024. In fact, he was benched for a stretch of the 2024 season as Dalton Risner took over at right guard.
At that point, the writing was on the wall that Ingram’s time in Minnesota was coming to an end, and he was traded to the Houston Texans this offseason for a 2026 sixth-round pick.
R3, P66: LB Brian Asamoah (Waived)
Brian Asamoah, the latest 2022 Vikings draft pick to leave the team, actually showed some strong promise early on in his Minnesota tenure.
He was selected with the 66th overall pick by Minnesota after the same trade with the Lions that landed Minnesota Lewis Cine in the first round.
Asamoah played 16 games in his rookie season, largely spending time on special teams, but potential shined through when the linebacker forced and recovered a crucial fumble against the New York Giants in Week 16.
However, that ultimately ended up being the extent of Asamoah’s highlights with the Vikings. Minnesota landed Ivan Pace as an undrafted free agent in 2023, who immediately blossomed into a star, and Blake Cashman was signed in 2024 to take the other starting spot. On Wednesday, Asamoah was claimed by the Tennessee Titans off waivers.
R4, P118: CB Akayleb Evans (Waived)
Similar to Asamoah, Akayleb Evans looked like he was in line to be a mainline starter on the Vikings defense at some point in his NFL career.
Evans was the result of yet another trade by Adofo-Mensah as the Vikings moved up in the fourth round to No. 118 in exchange for Nos. 126 (DE Isaiah McGuire) and 156 (RB Jerome Ford). Evans quickly moved up the depth chart and started a pair of games during his rookie season before injury ended his campaign.
He then proceeded to start 15 games in 2023, but Evans was benched down the stretch of the year. That left a sour note that never ended up being resolved. Evans spent the first couple months of the 2024 regular season in Minnesota but did not start a single game. He was then waived by Minnesota in November before being picked up by the Carolina Panthers. He made one start for the Panthers last season and is hoping to get more playing time in Carolina this season.
R5, P165: DL Esezi Otomewo (Waived)
Another trade landed Esezi Otomewo with the Vikings. This time, a deal with the Las Vegas Raiders sent Nos. 165 and 169 (RB Ty Chandler) to Minnesota in exchange for No. 126 (DT Neil Farrell).
Otomewo, a University of Minnesota product, remained largely a bench presence for the Vikings during 2022. He played five games throughout his rookie season with 89 defensive snaps.
However, he was waived prior to the start of the 2023 campaign, and he has bounced around between the Jacksonville Jaguars and Pittsburgh Steelers since.
R5, P169: RB Ty Chandler (On Roster)
Ty Chandler officially is the highest selected player from the 2022 NFL Draft to still be with the Vikings, but his time may soon be coming to an end as well after the Vikings re-signed Aaron Jones and brought in Jordan Mason from the San Francisco 49ers.
Chandler was a part of that Raiders trade as well, and he was viewed as a project from the get-go with both Dalvin Cook and Alexander Mattison on the roster in 2022. As a result, he played just three games during his rookie season, but 2023 was viewed as a massive opportunity after Dalvin Cook left the team.
During that campaign, Chandler totaled 102 carries for 461 yards and three touchdowns, showing promise as an RB2 behind Mattison. However, that promise quickly turned to disappointment after a 2024 campaign in which he totaled 56 carries for 182 yards.
We’ll soon see what the Vikings decide to do with Chandler in 2025.
R6, P184: OT Vederian Lowe (Traded)
The Vikings acquired Vederian Lowe after a trade with the New York Jets that came a year earlier when Minnesota traded for TE Chris Herndon and a 2022 sixth-round pick in exchange for a 2022 fourth-round pick during 2021.
That led to Lowe joining the Vikings, but he very rarely got playing time during his rookie season, appearing in four games. As a result, Lowe was traded to the New England Patriots for a 2024 sixth-round pick prior to the start of the 2023 season.
Lowe has gotten starting time with the Patriots though, making eight starts in 2023 and 13 in 2024.
R6, P191: WR Jalen Nailor (On Roster)
WR Jalen Nailor has had the most successful tenure of any Viking from the 2022 draft class and has made the most of the opportunity he was given when he was selected in the sixth round. That 191st pick came to the Vikings after the Chiefs traded for CB Mike Hughes back in May 2021.
During his rookie season, Nailor appeared in 15 games and recorded nine receptions for 179 yards and a touchdown. He came on strong down the stretch of the season with seven of those receptions coming in the final two games.
However, injuries limited Nailor to just six games in 2023, which led to some questions as to how he would hold up as WR3 after K.J. Osborn left the roster in the offseason.
Well, Nailor fully filled the role in 2024, totaling 28 receptions, 414 yards, and six touchdowns over the course of the campaign. Now, he could be stepping in as WR2 during the start of 2025 after Jordan Addison received a three-game suspension.
R7, P227: TE Nick Muse (Waived)
Nick Muse came over to Minnesota in a draft-day trade with the Las Vegas Raiders that landed Las Vegas RB Zamir White.
The tight end actually spent each of his first three seasons in Minnesota, bouncing between the practice squad and active roster. In total, Muse played 16 games for the Vikings from 2022-2024, recording a single reception for 22 yards in 2023.
Now, Muse has signed with the Philadelphia Eagles, joining Cine in trying to land a spot with the reigning Super Bowl champs.
Editor’s Note: Information from Pro Football Focus and Pro Football Reference helped with this article.
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