Kwesi Adofo-Mensah made quite the first impression in his rookie season as Vikings’ general manager, overseeing a roster that won 13 games and its first NFC North title since 2017.
That was only the beginning as Adofo-Mensah, and coach Kevin O’Connell, begin to put their stamp on an organization that is coming off a busy offseason that saw longtime veterans Adam Thielen, Eric Kendricks and Dalvin Cook handed their walking papers.
With training camp set to open later this month, let’s assess the good and the bad from Adofo-Mensah’s first season, along with a move that will help determine how his tenure at GM is remembered.
We’ll do the same for O’Connell later this week.
Best move: T.J. Hockenson trade provided immediate help
The best move Adofo-Mensah made came at the Nov. 1 trade deadline when he acquired tight end T.J. Hockenson and two draft picks (a 2023 fourth-rounder and a 2024 conditional fourth-rounder) from Detroit for a second-round pick in 2023 and a third-round pick in 2024.
The move came after tight end Irv Smith Jr. suffered a high-ankle sprain in a late October victory against Arizona. With Smith Jr. on injured reserve, Adofo-Mensah surprised many by completing an in-season trade with an NFC North rival.
It worked out better than anyone could have imagined.
Hockenson, the eighth overall pick by the Lions in 2019, made an immediate impact. He had caught 26 passes on 43 targets for 395 yards and three touchdowns in seven games with Detroit.
Less than a week after the Vikings acquired him, and with little practice time, Hockenson caught all nine passes thrown to him by Kirk Cousins for 70 yards in a 20-17 win at Washington. In 10 games with the Vikings, Hockenson caught 60 of 86 targets for 519 yards and three touchdowns.
He added 10 receptions for 129 yards in the Vikings’ first-round playoff loss to the New York Giants.
Hockenson is entering the final season of his rookie contract, but there is little doubt the Vikings want to keep him in purple. Smith Jr., a second-round pick in 2019, is now in Cincinnati after not living up to expectations with the Vikings.
If you are doing the math on this, the Vikings went from having the 50th pick in the ’19 draft at tight end to having the eighth.
Worst move: Trading back and taking Lewis Cine remains a question mark
Before Adofo-Mensah had seen the Vikings play a game, he made a trade with the Lions that doesn’t look nearly as savvy as the Hockenson deal.
The Vikings had 12th pick in the first round in Adofo-Mensah’s first draft, but the GM sent that selection, along with the 46th pick, to Detroit for picks 32, 34 and 66.
The Lions selected wide receiver Jameson Williams at No. 12 and the Vikings used the final selection of the opening round on Georgia safety Lewis Cine. Cine’s rookie season began with him playing almost exclusively on special teams and ended in Week 4 when he suffered a compound fracture to his lower leg while playing on punt coverage in Week 4 against the Saints in London.
Cine had been given little chance to win a starting job in training camp — Cam Bynum had won the spot during the offseason program — and the rookie only played two snaps on defense before his injury.
In the Vikings’ offseason workouts that were open to the media this spring, it appeared Cine again was running with the second team and that Harrison Smith, Bynum and 2020 sixth-round pick Josh Metellus were all ahead of him.
While Adofo-Mensah saw an opportunity to add another selection by making the trade with Detroit, his decision to move back 20 spots was curious. It also was surprising given that standout safety Kyle Hamilton was still on board and would have been the logical pick if the rookie GM really wanted a safety. Hamilton went 14th overall to Baltimore and had a solid rookie season.
It will be interesting to see if Cine gets a chance to challenge Bynum for a starting spot in training camp. Indications are that his leg is healed, so if Cine doesn’t move up the depth chart this season, Adofo-Mensah’s decision to move that back in the opening round and take Cine will continue to be a topic.
Biggest decision to be made: Will Vikings stick with Kirk Cousins or move on?
The biggest decision for Adofo-Mensah, and O’Connell, could be made as soon as March. That will be whether to retain soon-to-be 35-year-old quarterback Kirk Cousins or attempt to draft a quarterback in the first round.
Cousins is entering the final season of his contract and the Vikings could look short term to a bridge QB, if they don’t think they can find a long-term solution immediately. What we know is that the Vikings have put contract talks with Cousins on hold until March and there is a possibility he will end up walking away.
The direction the Vikings go at this position is likely to define Adofo-Mensah and O’Connell’s tenure in Minnesota more than any other. It’s not a stretch to say that former general manager Rick Spielman was fired because he failed to find a franchise quarterback in the draft.
Christian Ponder was a bust and Teddy Bridgewater’s injury just before the 2016 season was bad luck. Spielman ended up signing Cousins to a mega-deal in 2018 because he simply couldn’t find a young QB.
Drafting a quarterback in the first round puts that player on a rookie contract for five seasons and gives a team the ability to build around him. It’s an ideal situation that the Vikings haven’t had.
O’Connell is going to have the biggest voice in trying to find that player, but Adofo-Mensah is the one who will have to agree to go in that direction. If he does, and it’s the right choice, Adofo-Mensah will be a hero with Vikings fans.
Overall assessment of Adofo-Mensah's first season
This is tricky because assessing an executive or coach off one season can be very dangerous. That goes both ways. If Cine turns into a starter at some point, and the 2022 draft class begins contributing more, all of a sudden a draft that many have questioned could prove to be fruitful,
Adofo-Mensah, who largely kept the 2021 roster intact and then saw O’Connell win 13 games with that team, appears to be off to a good start. But the changes he has made this offseason will give us far more of a clue about how he wants to build a team.
He also has some big decisions to make on upcoming contracts, including Cousins, Hockenson and wide receiver Justin Jefferson, who is going to break the bank. It won’t be long before he also has to make a call on standout left tackle Christian Darrisaw.
If Cousins is allowed to leave, the pressure gets turned up on not only finding his replacement but landing the Vikings the type of franchise QB they haven’t had for many years.
This remains a work in progress for Adofo-Mensah.
