Throughout Kwesi Adofo-Mensah’s time as general manager, he has done his best to live in both worlds.
He wants the Minnesota Vikings to be competitive but also rebuild for a championship window. He wants to find value but also impact players who can help the team win now. Adofo-Mensah wants the Baconator, but he also wants extra bacon.
The last example may be extreme, but all of this is coming to fruition at this year’s trade deadline. The Vikings are 5-2, but their true championship window may not be for a few years down the road. Still, Adofo-Mensah has been aggressive at the trade deadline for the third-straight season, adding Cam Akers and Cam Robinson over the past few weeks.
It feels like Adofo-Mensah is going against his philosophy of not going “Full Rams.” But there may be a bigger reason why Kwesi is saying, [Bleep] those [Day 3] picks. It could have to do with what the Vikings already have, and it starts with last year’s haul in the first round, including J.J. McCarthy and Dallas Turner.
To talk about the future, we have to understand what is happening in the present. Adofo-Mensah admitted that he tried to do too much when passing on Kyle Hamilton and created a “33-point play” by trading down in the 2022 draft. Lewis Cine and Andrew Booth were lemons. While Ed Ingram remains a starter, his grip is loosening on the right guard spot.
With the exception of Jalen Nailor, Ty Chandler, and Akayleb Evans, the Vikings didn’t acquire much talent after going full Spielman. In response, Adofo-Mensah tried a concentrated approach the following year.
Jordan Addison has produced like a first-round pick. Still, his off-the-field issues invite speculation about whether he’ll be in Minnesota past his rookie contract. Mekhi Blackmon also looked promising before tearing his ACL in training camp. However, the rest of the class were swings and misses, including Jay Ward, Jaquelin Roy, Jaren Hall, and DeWayne McBride.
Anybody who has played dynasty fantasy football knows what happens next. Unable to find consistent talent in the draft, teams start throwing picks around, looking to land the impact talent to push them over the top. In the case of the 2022 trade for T.J. Hockenson, it was a brilliant move. However, over the past two years, it’s felt like he was chasing money.
One year ago, the Vikings used draft capital to fill the void Kirk Cousins’ Achilles injury created. Fighting their way back to .500 after a 1-3 start, Adofo-Mensah tossed a conditional seventh-round pick for Josh Dobbs, only to pick up a couple of wins that may have put them out of the range of trading up for Drake Maye.
The Vikings are in a better spot at 5-2 this season. Still, trading for Robinson feels like a panic move after Christian Darrisaw tore his ACL and MCL in last week’s loss to the Los Angeles Rams. Perhaps a move to acquire Dexter Lawrence from the New York Giants or Jeffery Simmons from the Tennessee Titans would have made a bigger impact, but it may not be possible after the last few trades.
The Vikings enter the 2025 draft with their first-round pick and a pair of fifth-round picks. While they should earn a third-round pick in the compensation process, nobody knows how the formula works.
With only four picks in this year’s draft and five in the 2026 draft, it feels like Adofo-Mensah is boxing himself in with these trades – especially regarding next April’s draft.
Imagine if the Vikings are sitting in the early 20s and an impact player begins to fall. If Ashton Jeanty from Boise State falls in the draft, scooping him up or making a trade to get him seems like a solid choice. However, Minnesota has limited capital for a trade-up and would need some Day 3 picks to make a deal.
It may also leave the Vikings chasing draft choices again as they are locked into trading down to replenish the draft capital they’ve relinquished.
You may look at Minnesota’s current state and think, So what? However, the Vikings have locked in many of their impact players for only one season.
- Aaron Jones has revitalized the running game, but at 30, the Vikings may not want to reinvest in him after this season.
- Stephon Gilmore is 34, and Shaq Griffin is a pending free agent, leaving the Vikings to hunt for more corners in free agency and the draft.
Minnesota still needs an interior defensive lineman who can rush the passer. They might also need some interior offensive linemen to finally answer the question: Can he play guard?
The Vikings have $75 million in cap space to solve these problems, but blowing it all in one offseason isn’t wise. There also isn’t a guarantee that a player will be available at each position to solve Minnesota’s needs, leaving Adofo-Mensah entering a shark tank in a straightjacket when trying to improve the roster.
That could give some Vikings fans anxiety beyond their annual quest for 10 wins, but this is where McCarthy and Turner could influence their decisions.
Minnesota entered last season looking for its quarterback of the future. The New England Patriots thwarted their efforts to get Maye. Still, they landed on McCarthy, who drew rave reviews before suffering a torn meniscus in the first preseason game.
McCarthy represents the vaunted rookie contract window every general manager hopes to find, but sometimes, those plans don’t come together. While Trey Lance and the rest of the 2021 quarterback class have turned out to be duds, McCarthy continues to impress on the sidelines and looks ready to take the starting job when Sam Darnold leaves next spring.
Turner also appears to be an impact player, even if he’s not showing it on the field. Turner has played sparingly since notching a sack in a season-opening win over the New York Giants, but it’s turned into a redshirt year. Vikings fans may have PTSD over what happened to Cine. Still, the Vikings have spoken differently about Turner, who could be playing if it weren’t for Jonathan Greenard and Andrew Van Ginkel‘s standout performances.
If we could Madden sim a few seasons down the road, we could see Adofo-Mensah’s vision for this team. The lack of Day 3 picks could hurt their flexibility and deprive them of depth, but they already have the impact positions figured out.
Suppose McCarthy and Turner become the players the Vikings expect them to be. Then, the team must build around them, which could be done using free agency and premium draft picks.
That allows Adofo-Mensah to continue to live in both worlds, where the Vikings are competitive now and a bonafide contender in the future. Entering the final year of his four-year contract, he can bring this to the negotiating table and pitch McCarthy and Turner as key parts of Minnesota’s future.
