A Forgotten Vikings Draft Pick Heads to Pittsburgh
Kwesi Adofo-Mensah was hired in the 2022 offseason. He has just built a team that looks like a contender on paper, especially if one considers that those players will be put in position by Kevin O’Connell and Brian Flores, two masterminds of the game.
A Forgotten Vikings Draft Pick Heads to Pittsburgh
Despite the strong roster and a 34-17 record in his tenure, his first draft class continues to be brought up all the time in conversations around the GM. It turns out that moving on from a single draft class has been pretty difficult for some parts of the fan base, although missing on draft picks, even whiffing on entire draft classes, happens all the time in the NFL.
Sure, Lewis Cine, Andrew Booth Jr., and Ed Ingram didn’t become the players the executive or the fans hoped they could and they are all gone. Brian Asamoah and Ty Chandler are basically special teamers at this point. Only Jalen Nailor has a large role on either offense or defense.
Nick Muse provided depth at tight end for three seasons, which seems fine for a seventh-rounder. Vederian Lowe was traded to New England for his original pick. That selection was acceptable, too.
But there’s one guy from that class that is somehow never mentioned. Fifth-round pick Esezi Otomewo is an overlooked player in franchise history. The defensive lineman out of the University of Minnesota appeared in five games with the Vikings but didn’t make the cut in his second offseason, ending up on the waiver wire.
His following stint led him to Jacksonville, where he spent the last two seasons and appeared in four games (two starts).
Otomewo has recently signed a deal with the Steelers, the team announced.
The Steelers wrote on their website, “The Steelers signed defensive tackle Esezi Otomewo to a one-year contract. Otomewo was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings in the fifth round of the 2022 NFL Draft, the 165th overall pick. He spent the last two seasons with the Jacksonville Jaguars. In three seasons he has appeared in nine games, starting two. He has nine tackles, three of them solo stops, a tackle for a loss, two quarterback hits and half a sack.”
Otomewo was, just like the other drafted defenders from that class, hit hard by the defensive coordinator change in 2023 and the subsequent scheme adjustment from Ed Donatell’s idea of football to Brian Flores’.
The new coordinator didn’t have any relationship with any one of them, and some simply didn’t fit his system. Otomewo was quickly cut despite the poor competition along the defensive line.
With Otomewo, Pittsburgh has these interior defensive linemen under contract in 2025.
- Montravious Adams
- Keeanu Benton
- Domenique Davis
- Daniel Ekuale
- Cameron Heyward
- Logan Lee
- Isaiahh Loudermilk
- Dean Lowry
- Esezi Otomewo
- Jacob Slade
More competition for Otomewo could arrive via free agent signing or in the draft.
A starter next to Cam Hayward is still needed. SteelersDepot’s Alex Kozora wrote about Otomewo’s addition and the other signings, “All three will bolster depth, though the team still lacks a starter to play alongside Cam Heyward and Keeanu Benton.”
The Vikings will face the Steelers in the upcoming season, and the defender surely hopes he can prove them wrong.
Otomewo just turned 26 years old.
Editor’s Note: Information from PFF, Over The Cap, and Pro Football Reference helped with this article.
Janik Eckardt is a football fan who likes numbers and stats. The Vikings became his favorite team despite their quarterback at the time, Christian Ponder. He is a walking soccer encyclopedia, loves watching sitcoms, and prefers Classic rock over other genres. Follow him on Twitter if you like the Vikings: @JanikEckardt