Kwesi Likes It Green
Minnesota Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah has been criticized in the past for his lack of success in the draft, especially the 2022 class, which remains in people’s memories. This year, once again, the executive has drawn some backlash for his efforts in the three-day event.
Kwesi Likes It Green
Whether a player who has been selected will actually be good remains to be seen; however, there are a few things that can help project their future. Putting up big numbers in college is one of those items. Another one is athleticism.
Players don’t become busts because they are too athletic, and there’s no scenario on a football field in which players wish they were slower or couldn’t jump as high. The pre-draft testing at the combine or pro days helps determine some of those physical abilities.
In this year’s draft, the Vikings spent all their draft capital to pick players who excelled in those tests. Kent Lee Platte, the man behind the Relative Athletic Score, or RAS, ranked the most athletic draft classes, and the Vikings finished second, just inches behind the Commanders. Players with good scores are green, those with bad ones are red, and average players are yellow. Guess whose class is all green?
Those test scores don’t mean that a player is good or bad, but it definitely doesn’t hurt if a player is relatively fast.
Last year, the Vikings ranked 25th despite not having any poor testers. The RAS godfather wrote: “I suspect that the Vikes are a threshold team because of how they’ve tackled athleticism. They seem to avoid players who test poorly, but don’t necessarily target players with elite overall athleticism, just the bits they want.”
Either the Vikings have changed in that department, or it’s just accidental. Who knows?
Donovan Jackson
The Vikings left the first round with a new offensive guard. Ohio State’s Donovan Jackson is generally viewed as a pro-ready blocker who will quickly take over the left guard job from incumbent starter Blake Brandel.
Jackson played left tackle for the majority of his final collegiate campaign because ex-teammate and fellow first-rounder Josh Simmons suffered a knee injury. In Minnesota, he will return to his more natural position. The guard plays with solid technique and the power to make an impact early.
He showed his athleticism by dominating broad and vertical jumps, for a man of his size, and the bench press, but skipped the runs.
Tai Felton
Tai Felton is another combine hero as he ran a 4.37 40-yard dash. Like Jackson, he also posted nearly ideal jump scores.
Felton needs some refinement in his route-running technique, but he has played a lot of football and was productive at Maryland. If he fully learns how to use his speed, he could elevate an already strong wide receiver group.
Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins
Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins is a bet on potential and athleticism. He played at Georgia, a school that pretty much produces a couple of first-round linemen every season, and that’s why Ingram-Dawkins was not that productive in college.
He is either a big edge rusher or a smaller but quicker interior defender. It remains to be seen how Brian Flores plans to use him. It’s easy to see why he would be a problem for any guard or center.
Kobe King
Kobe King was the first of two back-to-back picks in the sixth round. The linebacker has gotten Adofo-Mensah excited when he introduced the young man to the local press. King lacks height, but he can run.
His competition will be Brian Asamoah, who is exclusively a special-teams player. King struggles in pass coverage, which could lower his chances, but if he can play special teams and shows enough potential on defense, there’s a roster spot waiting for him.
Gavin Bartholomew
The tight end completed Minnesota’s annual draft haul. Some tight ends are bigger, but not as fast. Bartholomew is on the speedier side, and his numbers in the agility drills and jumps are noteworthy.
The Johnny Mundt role is vacant. Minnesota’s long-time TE3 left in free agency, and Bartholomew could just step into his footsteps.
Editor’s Note: Information from PFF, Over The Cap, and Sports Reference CFB helped with this article.