The Minnesota Vikings named Kwesi Adofo-Mensah their general manager in January 2022. He’s had his ups and downs since then and is currently in the last year of his contract. Recently, Vikings fans have discussed whether the team should extend him. Today, we will examine if he deserves an extension and what we need to see from him moving forward to earn one.
Adofo-Mensah is an enigma. He’ll make a bad move, then turn around and hit you with something great. He trades down in the 2022 draft to pick Lewis Cine, who the Vikings cut earlier this week, instead of taking star safety Kyle Hamilton. Then he’ll make a deadline deal to acquire star TE T.J. Hockenson. He trades three draft picks to move up and pick Andrew Booth Jr. in 2022, who’s no longer on the team. Then, he signs UDFA Ivan Pace Jr., who looks like a franchise LB. It’s hard to get a read on the guy.
To put it lightly, his 2022 draft class was bad. Almost none of the players he selected that year have positively impacted the team, and Minnesota’s top two picks from the 2022 draft are now playing elsewhere.
Not all is lost from that class, though. Ty Chandler has established himself as an NFL-caliber running back and will get his fair share of snaps this season. Jalen Nailor looks poised to have a big year after dealing with injuries over the past two seasons. Other guys like Ed Ingram and Akayleb Evans have made starts since being drafted but have been inconsistent.
In hindsight, Adofo-Mensah’s tenure as GM got off to a rocky start. In his defense, he had only been part of the organization for three months before the 2022 draft and likely had several voices in his ear telling him how to shape the roster. Still, that doesn’t excuse his early mistakes. He ultimately has the final say on all front-office decisions.
Adofo-Mensah had a much better offseason in 2023. It wasn’t great, but he made the team better despite a below-average record due to unfortunate events that were out of his hands. He drafted budding star receiver Jordan Addison and a promising cornerback in Mekhi Blackmon. He also signed Byron Murphy Jr., Josh Oliver, and Brandon Powell — all of whom had big impacts on the team last season.
Most recently, he had what fans hope is his most successful draft, selecting J.J. McCarthy and Dallas Turner in the first round, as well as standout kicker Will Reichard. How these guys pan out will almost assuredly determine Adofo-Mensah’s future. The issue is that he’s only under contract through this season, which doesn’t give ownership much time to make a decision. The Vikings hope McCarthy is their QB of the future, but he will not be playing this season due to a torn meniscus. Turner and Reichard looked great during the pre-season and will be starters this season.
So, what can he do this year to prove he deserves an extension?
There’s a lot of uncertainty this year. If the Vikings are a winning team by the trade deadline, I expect Adofo-Mensah to dig deep into his bag to find some players who can shore up the team’s areas of weakness despite their lack of draft capital. His contract ends with the 2024–25 season, so he’s not guaranteed to be the decision-maker for next year’s and free agency. He could be out of a job if the team is terrible, although the events of this tumultuous offseason make that determination significantly murkier.
McCarthy won’t be playing this season, which makes me think that ownership will give Adofo-Mensah a short-term extension. We won’t know how good McCarthy is for at least two to three seasons. So if ownership lets Adofo-Mensah go and J.J. becomes a superstar, ownership will look silly. Therefore, I believe that Kwesi will stick around for better or worse.
Regardless of the decision, Adofo-Mensah has put hope into fans’ hearts. He overhauled the roster with young talent while letting go of longtime veterans, implemented a forward-thinking analytical approach to football, and changed the vibe of the entire organization. He’s turned a new leaf on an organization that’s had a tough time doing so.
