The Kwesi Clue and the Vikings’ Preferences in the 2025 NFL Draft
A little while back, someone who knows more about football than your humble author explained how things commonly work in the draft.
General mangers preach about the importance of picking the best player available, an ethos that often does play out in real draft decisions. However, when there’s a collection of talent that’s roughly equal in the draft assessment, then positional need can function as the tiebreaker.
One wonders if Kwesi Adofo-Mensah will allow that logic to guide his decisions from April 24th to 26th.
Minnesota is moving into the three-day event with just four picks, a total that should increase before it’s all said and done. Does the Vikings’ top executive allow positional need to work its way into the mix for how he uses his limited draft resources? Consider a past thought that was shared with KFAN’s Paul Allen for a bit of guidance.
The Kwesi Clue & The 2025 NFL Draft
Upon first glance, the comparison is a touch odd. What does NFL roster building have to do with Noah’s ark, a biblical story about a great flood wiping out the vast majority of humanity and animals being loaded onto a huge boat?
The idea, as far as I can tell, is that Mr. Adofo-Mensah is looking to be two-deep at every position. Just as every animal in Noah’s story come in pairs, so, too, should each position be represented in pairs.
Coaches at various levels of football espouse this belief. The basic thinking is that if the starter is lost to injury — an unfortunate but common outcome in a game as physical as football — then the backup can jump into the mix without there being a substantial drop off. As a result, the team can keep operating at a high-level without the starter, keeping the team competitive and the play calling consistent.
Kick it over to the GM for the specifics of what was said.
Adofo-Mensah explained that he likes to “joke that I want our team building to be like a Noah’s ark philosophy.” The GM goes on to unpack what he means: “I believe in building a team built for the seventeen-game attrition of the NFL season. And so that if somebody gets hurt, I wish you would see what’s behind them.”
Kwesi Adofo-Mensah’s aggressive foray into free agency certainly corroborates his self-described approach to team building. The iOL got a pair of significant adds — Ryan Kelly and Will Fries — while the iDL saw something similar occur with the help from Javon Hargrave and Jonathan Allen.
Similarly, the top running back tandem consists of Aaron Jones and Jordan Mason while the corners are being led by Byron Murphy Jr. and Isaiah Rodgers.
Nevertheless, there are spots on the roster that need further reinforcements, as Kwesi Adofo-Mensah would surely admit. The 2025 NFL Draft is soon to arrive and it seems likely that the event will feature the GM looking to scratch a few more items off his to-do list, at least as it relates to addressing depth issues at specific spots.
Earlier in the day, Janik Eckardt published a piece on PurplePTSD identifying some main needs. More specifically, the Vikings could use greater depth and competition at tight end, quarterback, and along the interior of the offensive line. Go ahead and toss on corner to the list of needs alongside probably being amenable to adding another edge rusher, running back, linebacker, and safety.
The 2025 NFL Draft isn’t going to be used to address all of these needs but some will almost certainly see some help added. Afterwards, Adofo-Mensah will very likely get his elbows up to snag some coveted undrafted free agents before then considering who remains on the free-agent market.
The Kwesi clue, in essence, involves looking at roster spots where the GM’s self-stated goal of being two-deep isn’t yet achieved. Identifying those spots allows us to then make an educated guess — keep that word in mind: guess — as to the positions that could get prioritized.
The draft takes place from April 24th to 26th. Afterwards, the GM will likely dip into his $17.1 million in cap space to add another veteran or two.
Editor’s Note: Information from 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 social media (Bluesky & Twitter). If you feel so inclined, subscribe to his Substack, The Vikings Gazette, for more great Vikings content.