Kwesi Adofo-Mensah Believes He Helped The Vikings, Not The Packers
K. Joudry
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When he offered his 53rd and 59th picks to Minnesota in exchange for the 34th, Brian Gutekunst believed he was doing the best thing for the Packers. When he decided to accept the offer from Gutekunst, Kwesi Adofo-Mensah believed he was doing the best thing for the Vikings.
Only time will tell if Gutekunst, Adofo-Mensah, or both were right.
Many Vikings fans – and writers – weren’t pleased to see Minnesota do business with the division rival. Making matters even worse is that the deal involved GB addressing their most pressing need: a receiver for Aaron Rodgers. In time, we may look back at this deal as being disastrous. Anything close to Davante Adams-level production would be an incredible win for both Christian Watson – the 34th selection – and the Packers.
Not every rookie receiver can be as excellent as Justin Jefferson and Ja’Marr Chase, but it’s growing increasingly common to see young guys produce early. One thinks of Tee Higgins as a good example. Like Christian Watson, Higgins was a second-round selection. He instantly gave his QB another weapon lean on. In just his second season, Higgins finished as the 9th-best receiver on PFF, accumulating nearly 1100 yards in 14 games. His rookie year wasn’t too bad, either: 67 catches, 908 yards, and 6 TDs.
The Packers trade with the Vikings may lead to a similar outcome. Indeed, it wouldn’t be at all shocking to see Watson perform at a high level early on. Despite this possibility, Kwesi decided to make the move.
Why?
Well, because he felt that the benefit to Minnesota outweighed the benefit to Green Bay. Football is a game that’s played within a context. Perhaps the Packers improved, but the hope is that the Vikings improved even more. If that happened, then it was a good deal for the Vikings.
Imagine if we could assess these teams out of a score of 100. Maybe the receiver addition helped bump the Packers up a few points, making them a more dangerous team. The Vikings believe that the 53rd & 59th bumps them up by more than a few points. If, for instance, the Vikings gained 5-10 points, then GB didn’t do too much to improve. Indeed, the most immediate competition for a playoff spot is still the division, so a large purple step forward trumps a small green step forward, meaning life is more challenging for the cheeseheads.
Adofo-Mensah forced the Packers to cash in their two second-round selections for just one choice. Though Minnesota now has to deal with a new receiving threat, the GM believes that Green Bay will also need to deal with the talent Minnesota brought in: “We also knew they could trade with somebody else. We’d rather reap the benefits of the trade if we so thought. We are OK. This is a great league; those are great organizations, and we’re going to have to compete with them either way, and we’ll be ready for the challenge.” Therein lies the key: Kwesi Adofo-Mensah believes there was great benefit to the Vikings with this trade, so he decided to go for it.
Indeed, one of his consistent ideas in his pressers was that trades aren’t purely about one side. Sure, GB got a receiver, but Minnesota had the chance to also improve. In the end, the hope is that Minnesota’s improvement far outweighs Green Bay’s, meaning the NFC North rival is worse off for making the trade.
[brid autoplay=”true” video=”1004835″ player=”26281″ title=”WATCH%20Best%20remaining%20Baker%20Mayfield%20landing%20spots%20after%20NFL%20Draft” duration=”108″ description=”There was some belief Baker Mayfield could be traded shortly before the 2022 NFL Draft began, and if not then, it would happen at some point possibly on Day 2 once teams knew whether they missed out on their draft targets. Unfortunately for the No. 1 pick of the 2018 NFL Draft, he still remains a member of the Cleveland Browns.But that isn’t expected to last long. After everything that’s happened in Cleveland between Mayfield and the team, there’s no way he’s still on the roster once training camp opens in late July. Having both Deshaun Watson and Mayfield in the same locker room could get awkward.” uploaddate=”2022-05-02″ thumbnailurl=”undefined” contentUrl=”https://cdn.brid.tv/live/partners/17660/streaming/1004758/1004758.m3u8″ width=”16″ height=”9″]