The Vikings’ Pesky Problem with the Draft Two Weeks Away
The Vikings’ pesky problem is that it takes two to tango. What happens if Kwesi Adofo-Mensah can’t find a dance partner during the draft?
The recent update arrives courtesy of Ian Rapoport of The NFL Network, who is corroborating what someone else is saying. According to an account covering the Buccaneers (Pewter Report), Tampa Bay’s GM Jason Licht thinks that a trade back isn’t as likely as in past years. Rapoport responds, “That’s what it feels like. Not a lot of teams trying to move up.” Keep in mind that the Bucs are sitting in the No. 19 spot.
The Vikings’ Pesky Problem:
Is There Going to be a Trade Partner?
In his time as Minnesota’s GM, Adofo-Mensah has pulled four players out of the opening round:
- 2022: Lewis Cine, Safety, No. 32
- 2023: Jordan Addison, Receiver, No. 23
- 2024: J.J. McCarthy, Quarterback, No. 10
- 2024: Dallas Turner, Edge Rusher, No. 17
Without question, the initial 1st-Round selection went awfully. Cine played a total of ten defensive snaps in two years with the Vikings. Addison, meanwhile, has displayed ample ability even if his driving infractions are reason for discouragement. The pair from 2024 — McCarthy and Turner — are inspiring a lot of optimism in the Twin Cities (especially the young passer).
For whatever it’s worth, the only player to be chosen with Minnesota’s organic draft selection was Addison. Cine arrived after a trade down; McCarthy and Turner were added after moving up.
Recently, Janik Eckardt discussed the possibility of a trade down, doing so in response to an article from ESPN. Apparently, the thinking from ESPN is that a trade down makes sense for a Minnesota team with only four selections.
Eckardt writes in response, “To accumulate more draft capital, a trade is the logical move. However, it’s not a given anyone would want to move up the board. Possibly, a promising quarterback could be available, and someone might want to be willing to trade back into the first round.”
Eckardt’s point is a good one. Being able to trade down means having a team willing to cash-in multiple picks to get into the No. 24 slot. That means two things need to occur: a coveted player needs to be available and Minnesota can’t be so interested in that player that they’ll reject all offers in favor of scooping up the promising youngster.
The piece from Eckardt goes on to speculate about some possible teams that could be looking to do business with Adofo-Mensah and the Vikings: “The Giants or Browns are prime candidates for that with their early second-round selections. Perhaps the Bills would love to get their hands on a wideout or the Chiefs on a tackle and are willing to give up their picks in the 30s.”
At the end of the day, Kwesi Adofo-Mensah suffers from the same weakness as the rest of us: the GM can’t perfectly foresee the future. Instead, he can merely put in a ton of work to prepare for a variety of different scenarios. Doing so will allow him to pivot based on how the board falls on the night of the 24th. Even a single team doing something funky by picking an unexpected player high can have a ripple effect that pushes excellent players down the board.
Adofo-Mensah’s job is to be ready for these possibilities (he does lots of mocks, but he calls them simulations).
Previously on PurplePTSD, there has been a consideration of the pick haul the Vikings could demand for moving down. Going down to the late 20s or early 30s could mean recouping a Day 2 selection, but possibly a bit more. Adofo-Mensah is far from shy when it comes to considering trades, but we’ll have to wait to learn if he even has an opportunity to pull off another swap.
Editor’s Note: Information from Pro Football Reference 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.