Kwesi Changed his Strategy
In the beginning, there was youth. And speed.
Fast forward a couple of years and the makeup of the defensive backfield looks both oddly similar and totally different. Kwesi Adofo-Mensah is leaning on the Spielman trio at safety — Harrison Smith, Camryn Bynum, and Josh Metellus — for ongoing excellence while the corner position has been totally overhauled from that era. Notably, part of that overhaul has involved moving on from players who were drafted by the current GM.
Kwesi Changed his Strategy
Lewis Cine and Andrew Booth Jr. were the first two picks of the Adofo-Mensah era. Both are no longer on the team.
To say that these two have been a disappointment would be an understatement. From the outset, the trade back with the Lions looked like a brutal decision. Compounding the issue was the decision to pick Cine, someone who played just 10 snaps on defense in his Vikings career. Not great, folks.
At the time, Adofo-Mensah believed that Cine would be a menace at free safety for several years. Instead, he was a flop for two years. The GM moved on since he understands that the 1st-Round pick used on the defender is a sunk cost. Nothing can be done to get that pick back. Better to move on from a bad investment rather make it worse.
A similar rationale applies to Andrew Booth Jr., someone who has talent but who struggles to hang with NFL receivers. The corner was traded for Dallas’ Nahshon Wright earlier in the offseason — who ended up being cut in Minnesota — yet another sign that Adofo-Mensah won’t be overly committed to his early-round selections.
The GM, in short, gathered more evidence about these players by having them in the building. The majority of the evidence was suggesting that other options were better suited to playing winning football. Kwesi responded accordingly.
The wild thing is that Minnesota is supposed to be going through a youth movement at corner. Through a variety of scenarios, Minnesota has had to pivot toward mostly leaning on single-season veteran deals.
Booth got traded. Khyree Jackson tragically passed away. Mekhi Blackmon tore his ACL. Akayleb Evans remains from the ’22 class and Dwight McGlothern, a 2024 UDFA, is on the team, as well.
Otherwise, it’s Byron Murphy Jr., Stephon Gilmore, Shaq Griffin, and Fabian Moreau. All are veteran corners who are scheduled to be free agents in 2025. Quite the departure from where Minnesota was trending.
Minnesota’s top decision maker deserves credit for being nimble. He has adjusted to brutal circumstances with the injuries and a tragic death. The response has involved loading up on solid veterans on short-term deals.
Going into 2025 — which, admittedly, feels very far off — Minnesota would have just Evans and McGlothern under contract. Murphy is an extension candidate, so it’s possible he could be in the mix, as well. Oh, and Blackmon can hopefully return to full health.
The future strategy, then, seems likely to involve layering in no shortage of youth. Currently, though, Minnesota’s corner room is being led by veteran talent on short-term deals, mostly out of necessity.
Editor’s Note: Information from Pro Football Reference and Over the Cap helped with this piece.
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K. Joudry is the Senior Editor for Vikings Territory and PurplePTSD. He has been covering the Vikings full time since the summer of 2021. He can be found on Twitter and as a co-host for Notes from the North, a humble Vikings podcast.