Kwesi Adofo-Mensah has had his share of critics during his time as the Minnesota Vikings’ general manager. We can all nitpick various draft picks or roster construction choices. Still, I gotta admit there’s one thing I appreciate about Kwesi above all else.
He’s not afraid to be aggressive.
In his first year as GM, the Vikings had surprised the football world by starting 6-1. This team operated ahead of schedule for their “competitive rebuild.” While the debates about whether or not their success was a mirage would remain all season, it was clear they had a prime opportunity to seize the division and compete in this new regime’s first season.
Still, they needed another offensive piece. They needed something to complement Justin Jefferson‘s production and the stress he put on defenses who could attack the vacated areas over the middle of the field. So, right before the trade deadline, Adofo-Mensah swung a trade for T.J. Hockenson. Minnesota’s new franchise tight end hit the ground running for the 2022 Vikings. While they fell short late in the season, that move is one of the more universally beloved Adofo-Mensah made during his tenure.
The Vikings find themselves in a similar situation this year. No one outside the TCO Performance Center saw this 5-2 start coming. This was the rebuild-and-reload season with a bridge quarterback until J.J. McCarthy took the reins next season. Fans on the outside were hoping Minnesota wouldn’t finish last in the division and show some signs of improvement headed into 2025.
Based on the early results, it seems the front office threw out whatever their modest priors may have been headed into the season. They saw the team that smoked the New York Jets, San Francisco 49ers, and Houston Texans. They saw the team the Green Packers were lucky to stay close against. Even in the face of adversity the past two weeks against the Detroit Lions and Los Angeles Rams, they believe there’s still a chance for this team to make some noise in the NFC.
But when superstar left tackle Christian Darrisaw went down last Thursday, Vikings fans were justified in feeling like the air was out of the balloon. Darrisaw is arguably Minnesota’s most important player not named Justin Jefferson, and he had taken his already impressive game to an entirely different level this season.
I mean, that’s simply not human. What the heck is even your average-level NFL defensive end supposed to do against that? That’s a cheat code.
Darrisaw’s heroics meant Minnesota could consistently leave their left tackle on an island, let their quarterback take a seven-step drop, and never think twice about pressure coming to Sam Darnold’s blindside. It fundamentally changed how they could construct their offense.
Unfortunately, we saw last Thursday that swing tackle David Quessenberry is certainly no Christian Darrisaw. Becoming mortal at that position would alter their offensive strategy for the rest of the season. At best, it was a weak spot they’d have to scheme around and hide. At worst, it was an Achilles heel that would send them tumbling back to the irrelevant state we all predicted before the season.
Kudos to Adofo-Mensah, O’Connell, and the entire organization. After discovering a winning window no one saw coming, fate tried to slam it shut. The Cam Robinson trade proves they’re doing everything possible to prevent that.
Matt Fries wrote a great piece about what the Vikings are getting in Robinson, and it’s absolutely worth your time. He goes deep into Robinson’s statistical and film profile and comes away rather optimistic about what he can do to fill Darrisaw’s shoes.
Is Robinson going to be a top-two left tackle? No. Still, he brings strength, size, and experience that should keep this offense much more competitive than they would’ve been trying to piecemeal this together with the remaining talent on the roster.
The coup de grace about this whole thing is that the cost is almost a non-factor. The draft assets exchanged are conditional late-round pick swaps in 2026. The Jacksonville Jaguars also may be on the hook for some of his remaining $9.6 million salary this season. And even if most or all of that ends up on Minnesota’s cap, it’s a one-year rental. There are no financial ties Minnesota needs to worry about going into next season.
The biggest opportunity cost is that it makes additional roster moves, especially any splashy trades for additional defensive help at DT or CB, almost impossible. Unless Jacksonville takes on a lot more of Robinson’s money than we anticipate, Robinson will wipe out most of Minnesota’s remaining cap space for 2024. Still, this team’s ability to compete in 2024 would always be contingent on having a starting-quality offensive line to keep Darnold upright and prevent him from seeing ghosts again, as he did in his younger years.
In my opinion, this team’s likelihood of playoff success is hampered by the lack of defensive personnel. In my piece, I wrote about how to fix Minnesota’s defensive struggles last week. However, this team’s likelihood of playoff success without quality offensive line play? That feels close to zero.
Losing Darrisaw created a ceiling for this team, and the Cam Robinson trade shows how determined Adofo-Mensah and this Vikings front office are to break through it. Whatever this season has in store, they’ve done whatever they can to make the most of it.
