To say that Kwesi Adofo-Mensah’s first draft class with the Minnesota Vikings was unorthodox would be an understatement.
Billed as a general manager who leans on analytical decision-making, Adofo-Mensah passed on a premium position with his first pick, traded down to take a safety, and traded down once again to take a cornerback, an offensive guard, and a linebacker.
The idea was to have as many selections in the “sweet spot” of the draft. But, one year into his regime, it’s been a bitter pill to swallow – especially on the defensive side of the ball.
After a disastrous season under Ed Donatell, the Vikings replaced him with Brian Flores. Known for having an aggressive, man-heavy scheme, Flores’ attitude was instilled into his defense as soon as OTAs. However, it remains to be seen how that shift will affect the 2022 draft class.
The most glaring difference will be in how the Vikings will be deployed in coverage. Under Donatell’s zone-heavy scheme, Minnesota was supposed to eliminate big plays in the middle of the field. Still, opposing offenses averaged 5.9 yards per play.
Flores’ scheme isn’t going to eliminate those plays. The Miami Dolphins ranked 25th with 5.9 yards allowed per play in 2020 but improved to 13th at 5.3 yards allowed per play in 2021. However, he asks his corners to play more in man coverage.
That’s important to remember when considering the players on the team. The Vikings traded up to select Andrew Booth Jr. in the second round of the 2022 draft, but that pick was made while Donatell was overseeing the defense. Booth showed the ability to play both man and zone coverage at Clemson. However, he excelled in man coverage, where he played just over 20% of his snaps but posted an overall grade of 70.5 in that sample size.
The Athletic’s Dane Brugler also pointed this out in his annual “The Beast” draft guide, citing Booth’s athleticism and “natural feel for pattern matching in press and off-man coverage.” In addition to the ability to blow things up at the line of scrimmage, having Booth play more man should help him if stays healthy.
Brugler said similar things about Minnesota’s fourth-round pick Akayleb Evans, who posted a 75.1 grade in the 52% of the snaps he played in man coverage during his final season at Missouri.
“A physical, long-armed athlete, Evans has plus speed and transition movement skills to press or play from depth,” Brugler wrote. “His eye discipline needs to be better to help mask his lack of short-area twitch and control when attempting to constrict passing windows.”
Brugler said that Evans likely isn’t a starting-caliber cornerback, but he could eventually become a rotational player. This seems to bode well for both players entering Flores’ scheme, but their spots aren’t a given after the addition of Mekhi Blackmon.
Blackmon was a polarizing prospect coming out of USC but is exactly what Flores wants in his corners. Blackmon is a little on the smaller size at 5’11” and 178 lbs. but he excelled in man coverage, posting an 84.2 coverage grade in man coverage (which accounted for about 20% of his snaps).
“A fluid athlete with average size, Blackmon has seen a lot of football and it shows with his anticipation and confidence to be disruptive in coverage,” Brugler wrote. “Although he tends to play too physically, NFL coaches will appreciate his mental and competitive toughness at the position, especially in the run game.”
At 24, Blackmon isn’t likely to become a shutdown corner but he fits Flores’ mold, which gives him a leg up on incumbent corners Evans and Booth. If Evans and Booth also continue to deal with injuries, it could put them on the fence, allowing Blackmon to seize a starting job to open the season.
But it’s not just the cornerbacks who have to be concerned. Lewis Cine was the Vikings’ first-round pick in 2022, and it’s hard to argue that his rookie season could have gone worse. Cine dealt with a knee injury during the preseason and was limited to just two defensive snaps in the opening month of the season. A broken leg ended that season prematurely. However, he appears to be physically ready to go for the start of next season.
Cine is one of the players who stands to benefit from Flores’ scheme as a hyper-athletic safety at his best attacking downhill. While Cine’s athletic traits stood out to Donatell, the idea of having him play back in coverage didn’t seem to utilize his talents as much as an aggressive defense like Flores’ would.
One piece of evidence is Miami’s selection of Jevon Holland, who Flores took in the second round of the 2021 draft. Like Cine, Holland was a freak athlete coming out of Oregon and Flores used him as a missile designed to wreak havoc on opposing offenses.
Our own Rob Searles noted that Flores’ defense also blitzed at a 40% clip, and Flores’ starting safety tandem of Holland and Brandon Jones combined for 158 pass rushes, 7.5 sacks, and 33 pressures in 2021.
With a similar archetype to Holland, Cine figures to benefit the most from the Flores hire. However, Josh Metellus served the role as a “joker” during minicamp, lining up as a safety, linebacker, and edge rusher.
This could be a case of Flores wanting to see what he has in his veterans, but Brugler’s 2020 scouting report on Metellus paints a more ominous picture for Cine.
“Overall, Metellus might not have the high-end athletic traits that will earn him a starting role in camp, but if he gets into an NFL game, he might not give the job back,” Brugler wrote. “[He shows] the toughness required for downhill work and just enough range on the back end.”
Brian Asamoah is the final player in this group. The Vikings selected Asamoah in the third round of the 2022 draft as a typical modern-day linebacker. At 6’0″, 226 lbs., Asamoah has the measurables more common of a safety than an old-school thumper. His speed is what sets him apart.
Asamoah’s 4.56-second time in the 40-yard dash ranked in the 85th percentile of linebackers, according to MockDraftable. His overall profile compares favorably to another one of Flores’ former players, Jerome Baker, who often gets mentioned as a comparison.
Baker was a versatile chess piece for the Dolphins under Flores and specialized at rushing the passer. In 2020, he had 112 total tackles and seven sacks and notched 5.5 sacks in 2021 and four in 2022.
Compare that to Eric Kendricks, who racked up 137 total tackles last season but only had one sack. Jordan Hicks also notched 129 tackles but had just three sacks last season.
Ultimately, Asamoah’s challenge will be similar to the rest of last year’s class. None of these players gained major experience in their rookie season, but if they can get on the field, they have the tools to succeed under a new regime. This could make Adofo-Mensah’s first draft class seem less strange in retrospect and help the Vikings’ defense get back on track.
