There were a lot of unhappy people in Minnesota on Thursday night after Minnesota Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah traded the No. 12 and 46th pick of the 2022 NFL draft to the Detroit Lions.
One of the reasons for the outrage was the belief that the team got an unfair return in the Lions’ efforts to move up on the board. Not only did the Vikings move out of a premium draft position, but they also parted ways with their No. 46 pick in exchange for No. 32, 34 and 66.
The other reason for fans pounding their heads against the wall is the fact that the team traded to a division rival and paved the way for them to select arguably the best receiver in the entire draft, University of Alabama standout Jameson Williams.
When questioned on the matter, Adofo-Mensah was pretty blunt in his response.
“[Williams] was one of our favorite players in the draft, but we got a pretty bad dude on our team. And we can add other pieces on the other side. And, again, they have to play the Minnesota Vikings. We don’t got to play Jameson Williams,” Adofo-Mensah said.
Doesn't matter what they do, they've got to play the #Vikings. pic.twitter.com/AoZ7QUKteq
— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) April 29, 2022
The Vikings were fortunate enough to have Georgia safety Lewis Cine fall to them with the final pick of Round 1 on Thursday night.
Cine is an incredible athlete, but he was also a part of that same Bulldog defense that struggled to contain Williams in the SEC Championship and National Championship games in college last season.
The Lions got a legitimate burner capable of taking the top off defenses, and at least two times a year, for the foreseeable future, he’ll be coming for the Vikings’ roof.
