Bleacher Report Singles Out Vikings’ Biggest Blunder
The Minnesota Vikings have not been known as NFL draft savants over the last five years, aside from notable picks such as Justin Jefferson (2020), Christian Darrisaw (2021), and Jordan Addison (2023).
Bleacher Report accentuated the Vikings’ dirtiest draft mistake from the last five years last week. The name won’t surprise you.
So when Bleacher Report labeled each NFL team’s worst draft pick from the last five years this week, analyst Matt Holder had a few names to ponder.
He settled on safety Lewis Cine.
Lewis Cine Named Vikings’ Top Draft Blunder of Last 5 Years
The Vikings picked Cine in Round 1 of the 2022 NFL Draft, general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah’s very first hurrah. Cine broke his leg overseas six months later, basically ending his time in the Twin Cities.
Holder wrote about Cine, “It’s hard to blame the Vikings for using a first-round pick on Cine, as he was considered the top safety in the draft class and had clean tape at Georgia. However, the former Bulldog suffered a compound fracture early in his rookie season, which pretty much derailed his NFL career.”
“In the three years since getting drafted, Cine has played in just 11 games and has one career tackle. He’s currently on the Philadelphia Eagles’ roster and will be fighting to make the team during training camp.”
He continued by claiming that Adofo-Mensah should’ve drafted Houston Texans defensive back Jalen Pitre: “Meanwhile, Pitre was drafted just five spots later and has become a fixture of the Texans defense. He’s managed to rack up six interceptions, 21 passes defended and nearly 300 total tackles, earning a three-year, $39 million contract extension during the 2024 offseason.”
Lewis Cine on the Vikings’ Naughty List
There could only be one for the Vikings, and that was Lewis Cine
Of Course It Was Lewis Cine
Of all bad draft picks by the Vikings in the last five years — Kellen Mond, Andrew Booth, and Ed Ingram — Cine takes the cake, if only due to 1st-Round stock.
By now, he’s the butt of jokes among Vikings fans and remains a scourge on Adofo-Mensah’s otherwise stellar general management record. If any list were to find Minnesota’s worst draft pick of the last half-decade, Cine was the only answer.
Other Draft Blunders, Too
Minnesota is still recovering from the entirety of the near-entirely 2022 class. Jalen Nailor has transformed into a decent WR3, and running back Ty Chandler has shown glimpses of promise.
Other than those two, the class certifiably stunk. In fact, it might be hard to go back to that draft and find a worse trio than Cine, Booth, and Ingram. It was that awful. Few dispute it.
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Thankfully, Adofo-Mensah has appeared to right the ship, with selections of Jordan Addison, Mekhi Blackmon, J.J. McCarthy, Dallas Turner, and Donovan Jackson. He also onboarded undrafted free agent linebacker Ivan Pace Jr. in 2023, an overlooked gem who fell off the draftboard altogether due to height concerns.
Adofo-Mensah’s first draft proved to be generationally unproductive, but his recent trend suggests better selections.
Make no mistake, however: Adofo-Mensah’s reputation will rest on McCarthy’s shoulders. If McCarthy morphs into a Top 12 quarterback with staying power for the Vikings, nobody anywhere will care about Lewis Cine. Or Andrew Booth. Or Ed Ingram.
The Packers, Lions’ Blunders
For the Green Bay Packers, Holder called cornerback Eric Stokes the most regrettable selection.
He defended the choice: “Using a first-round pick on Stokes should haunt Packers fans because he hasn’t even been the best Georgia cornerback selected in that range. The Jacksonville Jaguars took Tyson Campbell just four picks later, and Campbell has earned a second contract in Jacksonville while Stokes got benched in the fall and left for Las Vegas this offseason on a one-year, $3.5 million deal.”
And for the Detroit Lions, Holder named cornerback Jeff Okudah, now a Viking, and noted, “It’s hard to blame the Lions for taking Okudah where they did. Heading into the 2020 NFL draft, He was widely considered one of the best cornerback prospects to enter the draft in several years. However, early-career injuries significantly altered the Ohio State product’s NFL trajectory, as he was traded for a fifth-round pick in 2023 and is about to play for his fourth team in as many years this season.”
Justin Fields showed up on the BR naughty list for the Chicago Bears.
Cine won a Super Bowl in February with the Philadelphia Eagles, although he didn’t play.
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