Criticizing the Vikings’ 2022 Draft Class is Premature … and a Bit Valid
An inauspicious start, that’s for sure.
Kwesi Adofo-Mensah’s first kick at the can didn’t go particularly well. Or, at the very least, hasn’t been going very well. The Vikings’ 2022 draft class had a very poor opening season. Right now, the encore looks more promising but far from dominant, especially since the initial trio of picks have had some growing pains.
At what point should fans be concerned about what’s going on with Kwesi’s initial picks? Is it too early to be critical or can fan and analyst alike begin articulating their doubts?
The team is embracing youth and speed on defense, taking their chances with inexperience alongside a proven DC — Mr. Brian Flores — to get things back on track. Meanwhile, the offense doesn’t offer nearly the same amount of openings, but certain spots (iOL, WR, TE) have some room for contributors. As a result, the upcoming season will be critical in how we understand the initial group of Kwesi draftees.
The Vikings’ 2022 Draft Class
First, a recap of who the Vikings selected back in 2022. Taken from the entry in Section 121 titled “Every One of Kwesi Adofo-Mensah’s Draft Picks,” the full draft class from the initial months of Adofo-Mensah being on the job:
| Player | Round & Number | Position | College | Conference |
| Cine, Lewis | 1st RD – 32nd | Safety | Georgia | SEC |
| Booth Jr., Andrew | 2nd RD – 42nd | Corner | Clemson | ACC |
| Ingram, Ed | 2nd RD – 59th | Guard | LSU | SEC |
| Asamoah, Brian | 3rd RD – 66th | Linebacker | Oklahoma | Big 12 |
| Evans, Akayleb | 4th RD – 118th | Corner | Missouri | SEC |
| Otomewo, Esezi | 5th RD – 165th | Defensive End | Minnesota | Big 10 |
| Chandler, Ty | 5th RD – 169th | Running Back | North Carolina | ACC |
| Lowe, Vederian | 6th RD – 184th | Offensive Tackle | Illinois | Big 10 |
| Nailor, Jalen | 6th RD – 191st | Wide Receiver | Michigan St. | Big 10 |
| Muse, Nick | 7th RD – 227th | Tight End | South Carolina | SEC |
Players like Brian Asamoah, Akayleb Evans, Ty Chandler, and Nick Muse are trending in the right direction. More discouraging is that the initial trio of players — safety Lewis Cine, corner Andrew Booth Jr., and guard Ed Ingram — still have much to prove at the NFL level.
In fact, Cine has been at the center of the debate recently. Eric Eager and Matt Fries venture into the topic. Take a look at the conversation below for Kwesi’s first ever selection:
Both Eager and Fries make some worthwhile points. And, for the record, I still don’t love the trade down. The upside with Cine, though, is obvious. He’s a national champion who played for a major college program. Leading into the draft, Cine put together a remarkable 9.92 RAS score and was just 22 when Minnesota brought him to town. That combination alongside Minnesota’s dire need to add youth & speed to their secondary made the pick sensible enough (even if there are very reasonable critiques).
Even still, concern remains. Take, for instance, the Tyjae Spears touchdown run last Saturday night as an example of a very poor play from Cine:
By no means an easy play, Cine still needs to do better. Against Seattle, Cine’s issue was being way too high with his hits. He works toward correcting that issue by getting lower, but on the missed Spears tackle he drops his sight line, giving the runner the ability to sidestep the hit before scampering for a touchdown. In short, the tackling form is still a work in progress.
And yet the other side of things is Cine is capable of making this kind of play:
Malik Willis had a great day on the ground last Saturday night. He’s got the defender in a precarious position since he can either throw the ball or run. Cine still finds a way of pulling off the solo tackle in space, a testament to the upside he offers.
Cine, like most of his rookie counterparts, couldn’t get onto the field very much last year. And, in fairness, much of that was due to injury. Take a look at the snaps for just offense and defense:
| Player | Snaps on Offense/Defense |
| Cine, Lewis | 2 |
| Booth Jr., Andrew | 105 |
| Ingram, Ed | 1168 |
| Asamoah, Brian | 119 |
| Evans, Akayleb | 162 |
| Otomewo, Esezi | 89 |
| Chandler, Ty | 12 |
| Lowe, Vederian | 33 |
| Nailor, Jalen | 57 |
| Muse, Nick | 0 |
Ed Ingram really stands out. Combine the snaps for every other pick and Ingram easily still has the most overall. He’s supposed to be the right guard of both the present and the future but his play as a rookie left plenty of doubt about his ability to do so.
Andrew Booth has done very little to shake off the concerns about being injury prone. Even worse is that his time on the field has led to some struggle (such as getting scorched by Stefon Diggs; in fairness, most corners get scorched by Diggs). Currently, Booth is Minnesota’s CB4 or CB5.
Expecting Kwesi Adofo-Mensah to perfectly hit on all ten of his picks is unreasonable. Every GM misses. When we think of Rick Spielman, we often praise him for the 2015 group of picks since that led to Eric Kendricks, Danielle Hunter, and Diggs. Tremendous picks, to be sure, but there were still several players who didn’t pan out.
Adofo-Mensah should be held to the same standard. If the team manages to coax 2-3 high-end starters and 2-3 contributors from the initial draft class, then Adofo-Mensah pulled off a humongous success. Right now, that hope appears lofty, but we’ll have to see what’s in store over the coming months and years.
Minnesota completed their preseason yesterday, so we’re full steam ahead for the September 10th game against the Bucs. Look for most, if not all, of the 2022 picks to make the final roster.
Editor’s Note: Information from Pro Football Reference helped with this piece.
