When Kwesi Adofo-Mensah traded the 12th pick in the NFL Draft to the Detroit Lions, he probably had no idea wide receiver Jameson Williams would be in line to make his NFL debut against the Vikings on Dec. 11.
Lo and behold, that’s precisely the scenario Adofo-Mensah and the Vikings are facing as Lions head coach Dan Campbell intimated Monday that Williams could return from rehabbing the torn ACL he suffered in the college football national championship game in January just in time for the Vikings. in Week 14.
Minnesota got the 32nd, 34th and 66th picks for 12 and 46. They made safety Lewis Cine the first pick in the Adofo-Mensah era, and just three weeks into the season Cine snapped his lower leg against the Saints in London. Season over. Future in doubt.
Out of his control, but that’s an 0-for-1 start for the new GM.
Adofo-Mensah then traded the 34th pick to the Packers for picks 53 and 59. Green Bay turned that into Christian Watson, who had 10 catches in Green Bay’s first nine games but has exploded with 12 catches for 265 yards and six touchdowns over the past three games.
The draft capital the Vikings got from the Packers was used (pick 53) to move up to pick 42, where Adofo-Mensah selected cornerback Andrew Booth Jr. On talent alone, Booth Jr. had first-round skills, but he slipped because of injury concerns and he’s failed to shed those concerns by getting banged up in training camp, and now he’s reportedly out for the season after undergoing knee surgery on Monday.
That’s 0-for-2 for those of you keeping score at home.
With the 59th pick, Adofo-Mensah took Ed Ingram. He’s started every game at right guard but ranks 75th out of 88 guards in pass-blocking, according to Pro Football Focus. The 44 pressures he’s allowed is nine more than any other guard in the NFL. That includes an NFL worst eight sacks and he’s tied with Vikings left guard Ezra Cleveland for the most hurries (13) allowed by guards.
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The jury is still out on Ingram. The fact that he won the starting job is both a testament to his potential and a black mark on the depth of Minnesota’s interior offensive line.
Adofo-Mensah took linebacker Brian Asamoah with the 66th pick. He’s played special teams and that’s about it, which is to be expected as a rookie. Again, the jury is still out.
That draft day trade with the Lions started a domino effect that put Cine, Booth Jr., Ingram and Asamoah in purple and gold. It gave the Lions an unknown in Williams and the Packers a potential star in Watson. The Lions also got defensive end Josh Paschal with the 46th pick. He’s been slow to go but had eight impact plays against the Packers a few weeks ago.
A player the Vikings could’ve selected at 12 if Adofo-Mensah didn’t trade down: Kyle Hamilton, the safety from Notre Dame who went to the Ravens at No. 14. All he’s done is make an immediate impact – so much so that PFF has rated him as the No. 1 safety in the NFL.
Beyond the trades that could ultimately be judged as disasters, Adofo-Mensah may have struck gold with cornerback Akayleb Evans at No. 118.
And it’s too soon to fully judge players picked in rounds 5-7: defensive end Esezi Otomewo (No. 165), running back Ty Chandler (No. 169), tackle Vederian Lowe (No. 184), wide receiver Jalen Nailor (No. 191), and tight end Nick Muse (No. 227).
Outside of Ingram, whose impact has been both positive and negative, nobody from Adofo-Mensah’s 2022 draft class has made an impact this season. And nobody knows if anyone from the Class of 2022 beyond Ingram and Evans will have an impact in 2023 and beyond.
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