Kwesi Adofo-Mensah’s Riskiest Gamble Facing a Pivotal 2025 Season
If Dallas Turner struggles, then Kwesi Adofo-Mensah is going to get some criticism.
The GM has been less than perfect when it comes to the draft. Most notably, there was the 2022 debacle, an event that sometimes comes around every so often to rub just a bit more salt in the wound. Fast forward, though, and things are looking quite a bit more optimistic, in no small part due to J.J. McCarthy — chosen at No. 10 in the 2024 NFL Draft — taking over at QB1. A similar level of optimism doesn’t appear to be present for Turner, someone who cost a boatload to bring in as a potential EDGE1.
Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, Dallas Turner, & The Pressure in 2025
Minnesota has cleared out competition.
Gone are Patrick Jones II and Jihad Ward. These players were the EDGE3 and EDGE4 in 2024, playing reasonably strong football but falling far short of the team’s EDGE1 and EDGE2 (Jonathan Greenard and Andrew Van Ginkel). Losing these two veterans doesn’t sting too bad, but they’re leaving behind a lot of snaps that need to get filled.
Something to note is that the additions at defensive tackle — Javon Hargrave and Jonathan Allen — help the Brian Flores defense quite a bit. One wonders, as well, if rookie Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins could offer some quality snaps.
On passing downs in 2024, Flores would sometimes kick Jones and Ward inside. Both of the edge rushers have good size, especially Mr. Ward. The tactic was aimed at stealing from a position of strength (edge rusher) to help meet a need at a position of weakness (defensive tackle).
The additions of Allen and Hargrave turn defensive tackle into a strength, or at least that’s the plan. Harrison Phillips is going to continue eating up snaps as a run stuffer while the pair of free-agent adds are supposed to handle collapsing the pocket. Jalen Redmond may even earn some more snaps, building off his promising ’24 season.
From within this context, Dallas Turner needs to take massive step forward. Don’t forget, folks, that the Rams opted for Jared Verse at No. 19, an edge rusher who would go on to eviscerate the Vikings in the playoffs before winning Defensive Rookie of the Year. Seeing LA’s rookie shine so brightly so early may have made a few people in Minnesota skittish since the Vikings could have picked Verse instead of Turner.
Piling a little more pressure onto Turner is the basic fact that Jacksonville got a great haul from their trade with Minnesota.
At No. 23, the Jags snatched up a WR1: Brian Thomas. The pass catcher is only 22 and has great size at 6’3″ and 209 pounds. His rookie season involved 87 catches, 1,282 yards, and 10 touchdowns. Keep in mind, as well, that Jacksonville got the No. 167 pick in 2024 while landing a 3rd and a 4th in the 2025 NFL Draft.
Oh, and the No. 23 pick that Kwesi Adofo-Mensah moved away was acquired after forfeiting a pair of 2nd-Round selections in a different swap. Dallas Turner cost a fortune, folks, meaning he’s perhaps the largest gamble that Adofo-Mensah has taken in his time as the Vikings’ GM. Becoming a true EDGE1 will have made the trade worth it; something less than that level of play will mean that the trade will garner some criticism.
Turner had 20 tackles, 3 sacks, 5 QB hits, 3 tackles for loss, and 1 interception as a rookie.
Editor’s Note: Information from Pro Football Reference helped with this piece.
