Kwesi Adofo-Mensah has only been the Minnesota Vikings general manager for a little over two months, and his early decisions already have some fans wringing their hands.
Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.
The talk of competitive rebuilds and Adofo-Mensah’s decision to re-sign and restructure several Spielman-era veterans has made some Vikings fans wonder if Kwesi walks around TCO Performance Center with a WWSD bracelet on. What would Spielman do?
But that criticism might not be fair. The Vikings aren’t done constructing their roster yet. And if ownership instructed Adofo-Mensah to build a competitive roster this season, then his moves make sense. By all reports, Adofo-Mensah suggested this roster could be competitive in his interviews with the Wilfs, so a scorched-earth approach would be quite the heel-turn.
This year’s quarterback market is strange and volatile, and experts project a subpar draft class at the position. Even the harshest Kirk Cousins critics can rationalize why Adofo-Mensah extended him. Harrison Smith and Adam Thielen are team leaders who were willing to take team-friendly deals, so it makes perfect sense to keep them around. And while some may have health concerns about Danielle Hunter, his contract is not as costly as it seems, and the prospect of pairing him with Za’Darius Smith may have been too tempting to consider moving on.
However, the point is that these have all felt like Spielman moves so far. And, had the Vikings chosen to retain Spielman, he likely would’ve made similar decisions. But that shouldn’t necessarily be an indictment on Kwesi. Adofo-Mensah has set the stage in a familiar fashion, but that doesn’t mean we’re in for the same show.
We’re less than a month away from draft night, and that’s Adofo-Mensah’s opportunity to separate his decision-making from Spielman’s.
Vikings fans are all too familiar with Spielman’s draft night formula. Constant trades back to secure more Day 3 picks than could ever make the active roster and repeatedly picking a cornerback in the first round.
This formula created mixed success. Xavier Rhodes panned out. Trae Waynes, Mike Hughes, and Jeff Gladney did not. But make no mistake, Spielman was responsible for some big draft hits during his time in Minnesota. Franchise players like Danielle Hunter, Eric Kendricks, Dalvin Cook, and Justin Jefferson are all here thanks to Spielman.
Unfortunately, there were also big misses. Kellen Mond is apparently such a project that he can’t even beat out Sean Mannion. Pat Elflein and Garrett Bradbury were big whiffs on the interior offensive line. And despite the years of taking chances at cornerback, Minnesota’s cornerback depth might be the worst in the league.
Adofo-Mensah has an opportunity to bring a fresh approach. While Kwesi is still green when it comes to leading his draft war room, we can speculate a bit on what he might do, given his background. He learned football under San Francisco 49ers GM John Lynch and Cleveland Browns GM Andrew Berry. There also might be something to glean from his time on Wall Street.
While working under Lynch, the Niners built their roster by investing in free agents. They prioritized scheme fit rather than name value, targeting players like Kyle Juszczyk. Adofo-Mensah has appeared to do the same in free agency with the Vikings. Many of his early moves have previous relationships with the new coaching staff and are clear system fits.
Lynch also showed Adofo-Mensah how to invest heavily on the defensive front. He wasn’t afraid to stack strength-on-strength in players like Nick Bosa, Javon Kinlaw, Arik Armstead, and DeForest Buckner. If Kwesi drafts an edge rusher in the first round despite retaining Hunter and signing Za’Darius Smith, we might have John Lynch to thank.
Under Andrew Berry, Cleveland consistently took chances on players with high-risk, high-reward outcomes. Whether it was the lack of defined position, medical concerns, or off-field issues, Adofo-Mensah and the Browns emphasized high-variance stars. Cleveland’s emphasis on athletic measurables and unique traits led them to draft players like Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah and Grant Delpit.
What about Adofo-Mensah’s Wall Street background?
His business acumen could serve him well in evaluating a market’s (or, in this case, a draft class’) scarcity and value opportunities. The draft is first and foremost about picking good players. But beyond that, it’s about maximizing value with each selection. In theory, every team gets better at the draft. How much better they get is dependent on how much they manipulated the market to best accumulate valuable assets.
Let’s take this draft as an example. The Vikings have a strong need at outside corner, and there are only a few outside cornerbacks with a pedigree that experts would agree warrant the No. 12 pick. Out of those, Ahmad “Sauce” Gardner is seen as the top prospect and closest to a sure thing. However, many draft experts have him in the top 10 because of it.
Adofo-Mensah is then faced with the philosophical decision: Where’s the value? Does market scarcity demand a trade-up with the Carolina Panthers at No. 6 or Seattle Seahawks at No. 8 to hop ahead of the cornerback-needy New York teams? Does he sit at No. 12 and take the best player available, even if he’s a riskier proposition? Or does it make more sense to trade back and take advantage of the better depth at edge rusher or interior offensive line instead?
These are the scenarios that make the draft so fun to speculate on — and impossible to predict. Adofo-Mensah is still very much an unknown, and what little evidence we have to speculate with ultimately can be dismissed once the action begins.
Most fans only hope that Kwesi does enough to differentiate himself. They are clamoring for a fresh start and a new perspective, and Kwesi has a prime opportunity to make that impression. His competitive rebuild needs major wins on draft night, and all eyes will be on the new GM to deliver.
