Adofo-Mensah vs. Spielman: Comparing Their First 3 Drafts
Kwesi Adofo-Mensah is approaching his 4th crack at the NFL Draft, while former GM Rick Spielman had 10 cracks at the event as the main shot caller. For this comparison, we will only include drafts where Rick Spielman was considered the main decision maker, and it should be looked at with a couple of grains of salt for Adofo-Mensah, as there hasn’t been a ton of time to pass to consider his drafts very good or very bad…of course, except for 2022.
We are also not factoring in trades; just the selections that were made. They add important context, but I’m also not trying to give you a novel to read since one guy in this piece had the nickname Trader Rick and the other one was a literal Wall Street Trader.
Spielman, Year 1 – 2012
- R1;P4 – T Matt Kalil, USC
- R1;P29 – S Harrison Smith, Notre Dame
- R3;P66 – DB Josh Robinson, UCF
- R4; P118 – WR Jarius Wright, Arkansas
- R4;P128 – TE Rhett Ellison, USC
- R4;P134 – WR Greg Childs, Arkansas
- R5;P139 – DB Robert Blanton, Notre Dame
- R6;P175 – K Blair Walsh, Georgia
- R7;P210 – LB Audie Cole, NC State
- R7;P219 – DE Trevor Guyton, California
- No notable UDFAs
A couple of notable names, and a lot of nothing. Of course, Harrison Smith went on to be potentially the most beloved Minnesota Viking in franchise history, and similarly, Jarius Wright was beloved and felt automatic on third downs.
Matt Kalil and Blair Walsh both had promising rookie seasons, but would obviously eventually unravel. Everyone else did nothing to truly contribute to the team, other than Audie Cole, who had a pretty sweet preseason game that year against the Buffalo Bills when he had consecutive pick-sixes.
Adofo-Mensah, Year 1 – 2022
- R1;P32 – S Lewis Cine, Georgia
- R2;P42 – CB Andrew Booth Jr., Clemson
- R2;P59 – G Ed Ingram, LSU
- R3;P66 – LB Brian Asamoah II, Oklahoma
- R4;P118 – CB Akayleb Evans, Missouri
- R5;P165 – DT Esezi Otomewo, Minnesota
- R5;P169 – RB Ty Chandler, UNC
- R6;P184 – T Vederian Lowe, Illinois
- R6;P191 – WR Jalen Nailor, Michigan State
- R7;P227 – TE Nick Muse, South Carolina
- Notable UDFAs: P Ryan Wright (Tulane)
The disaster that keeps Kwesi Adofo-Mensah up at night. Only three players that were actually drafted remain on the 2025 roster in Jalen Nailor, Brian Asamoah II, and Ty Chandler, but Chandler and Asamoah could be gone soon, and Nailor is hanging on to a WR3 role by a thread. UDFA Ryan Wright remains the team’s starting punt man.
We’ve gone over the Lewis Cine catastrophe past the point of exhaustion, as well as Andrew Booth Jr. Ed Ingram was a rough watch at a lot of times, but wasn’t quite as bad as he was made out to be. Akayleb Evans also got a lot of run at corner, but Minnesota punted on him in the middle of the year in 2024, and he is currently buried on the Carolina Panthers’ roster.
Spielman, Year 2 – 2013
- R1;P23 – DT Sharrif Floyd, Florida
- R1;P25 – CB Xavier Rhodes, Florida St.
- R1;P29 – WR Cordarrelle Patterson, Tennessee
- R4;P120 – LB Gerald Hodges, Penn State
- R5;P155 – P Jeff Locke, UCLA
- R6;P196 – G Jeff Baca, UCLA
- R7;P213 – LB Michael Mauti, Penn State
- R7;P214 – G Travis Bond, UNC
- R7;P229 – DT Everett Dawkins, Florida State
- Notable UDFAs: FB Zach Line (Southern Methodist), WR Rodney Smith (Florida State)
This was potentially the most fun draft to watch as a Vikings fan. Three first-round selections, all within six picks of each other, and they were all pretty productive for the most part. The “most part” comes from Shariff Floyd, who was pretty promising until a 2016 meniscus injury led to permanent nerve damage (and a $180 million lawsuit against Dr. James Andrews), ending his playing career.
Xavier Rhodes was a stud, and so was Cordarrelle Patterson. Patterson is an all-time return man, but the Vikings seemed like they could never really use him properly as an offensive weapon. Jeff Locke was the starting punter for a handful of years, Gerald Hodges also played a decent amount of snaps in those years, and everyone else did nada.
For UDFAs, Zach Line started at fullback for a couple years before C.J. Ham, and Rodney Smith didn’t do anything on the field that was notable, but he did have a cute little YouTube vlog channel that featured some prominent Vikings at the time and gave a cool insight into the life of an NFL player before most other people did it.
Adofo-Mensah, Year 2 – 2023
- R1;P23 – WR Jordan Addison, USC
- R3;P102 – CB Mekhi Blackmon, USC
- R4;P134 – S Jay Ward, LSU
- R5;P141 – DT Jaquelin Roy, LSU
- R5;P164 – QB Jaren Hall, BYU
- R7;P222 – RB DeWayne McBride, UAB
- Notable UDFAs: LB Ivan Pace Jr. (Cincinnati), EDGE Andre Carter II (Army), CB NaJee Thompson (Georgia Southern)
Jordan Addison was a predictable hit, and Mekhi Blackmon had a promising rookie year in 2023 before a torn ACL sidelined him for all of 2024. Jay Ward is still hanging on to a roster spot as it stands, and everyone else who was acquired via a draft selection is no longer on the team.
UDFA Ivan Pace Jr. is currently a starter on the Vikings defense, and it’s still confusing how he went undrafted, even with his height. Andre Carter II is considered notable only because he recently had high hopes to develop, but acquisitions since then at the position have just about squandered them. CB NaJee Thompson was a noticeable special-teams gunner in his rookie year, but like Blackmon, he suffered a season-ending injury during the 2024 offseason that kept him out for the year.
Other names you may recognize (only because of recency) in this UDFA class include WR Thayer Thomas, WR Malik Knowles, and K Jack Podlesny (Georgia).
Spielman, Year 3 – 2014
- R1;P9 – LB Anthony Barr, UCLA
- R1;P32 – QB Teddy Bridgewater, Louisville
- R3;P72 – DE Scott Crichton, Oregon State
- R3;P96 – RB Jerick McKinnon, Georgia Southern
- R5;P145 – G David Yankey, Stanford
- R6;P182 – DB Antone Exum, Virginia Tech
- R6;P184 – DB Kendall James, Maine
- R7;P220 – DT Shamar Stephen, UConn
- R7;P223 – LB Brandon Watts, Georgia Tech
- R7;P225 – DB Jabari Price, UNC
- No notable UDFAs
Spielman played a large part in the drafting of Christian Ponder in 2011, but Teddy Bridgewater in 2014 was his first true self-made decision about a potential franchise QB. Of course, it didn’t work out, but as we all know, it isn’t completely Rick’s fault. Anthony Barr was a solid defender for a long time, and even had a stint back in Minnesota in 2023. Jerick McKinnon was a fantastic offensive playmaker when part of a running-back-by-committee system.
Shamar Stephen stuck around Minneapolis as a role player for some years, and Antone Exum tackled a fan who ran onto the field during a game in Oakland once. Everyone else didn’t contribute much.
Adofo-Mensah, Year 3 – 2024
- R1;P10 – QB J.J. McCarthy, Michigan
- R1;P17 – EDGE Dallas Turner, Alabama
- R4;P108 – DB Khyree Jackson, Oregon
- R6;P177 – T Walter Rouse, Oklahoma
- R6;P203 – K Will Reichard, Alabama
- R7;P230 – G Michael Jurgens, UNC
- R7;P232 – DT Levi Drake Rodriguez, Texas A&M Commerce
- Notable UDFAs: EDGE Gabriel Murphy (UCLA), EDGE Bo Richter (Air Force), DT Taki Taimani (Oregon), CB Dwight McGlothern (Arkansas)
This one is hard to judge yet, as all of these players are currently pure works in progress, and Khyree Jackson unfortunately passed just a couple of months after he was drafted.
Before the injury, Will Reichard seemed like the most sure-thing out of this draft class, but his struggles post-injury made him more of a question mark. J.J. McCarthy is obviously the presumed QB of the future, and Dallas Turner is considered the future of the edge-rushing group as well.
Everyone else, including the UDFA’s, has a legitimate chance to earn role-playing positions with sizeable playing time.
