I’m the kind of guy who always plays the same type of character in a video game. I like to order my usual at my favorite restaurant. I’m married to the girl I’ve been with since high school.
What can I say? I have a type.
In that way, I feel like I can sympathize with Minnesota Vikings GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah. I feel like we’re slowly building the profile of what Kwesi’s ideal acquisitions look like, and he may also have a type — especially when it comes to free agents. He loves betting on guys with high draft pedigrees that didn’t pan out, or on guys who are rebounding from an injury that’s depreciating their value.
Considering his Wall Street background, it shouldn’t shock anyone that Adofo-Mensah is always looking for opportunities to buy low on something once considered a premium asset.
It’s worked to some degree and has resulted in only marginal losses when it hasn’t. There are examples of this buy-low philosophy flaming out with guys like Marcus Davenport or Jalen Reagor. On the other hand, there have been guys like Cam Akers or Jerry Tillery who proved to be low-cost ways to recoup some value.
However, the golden child for this philosophy of Adofo-Mensah’s was Byron Murphy Jr., the crown jewel of his 2023 free-agent class.
The Arizona Cardinals took Murphy, who grew up in Scottsdale, as the first pick in second round of the 2019 draft. Murphy became a talented, ascending player for them as a nickel and outside corner. Still, despite being a productive and gifted player, Arizona let him walk after he had a season-ending back injury during his contract year.
Seeing an opportunity to buy low on a talented asset, Adofo-Mensah signed Murphy to a two-year, $17.5 million deal. After making a Pro Bowl this past season and being tied for fourth in the league in interceptions, it’s evident that Murphy has outplayed this contract.
Murphy is coming off a career year, and his value has never been higher. He’s only 27, and he’s alleviated any injury concerns. And according to recent scuttlebutt, particularly from NFL Insider Jeremy Fowler, his price tag seems too steep for Adofo-Mensah to want to re-invest.
Byron Murphy Jr. seems poised to hit the open market once again.
There’s been a lot of speculation on how this front office will allocate its roughly $70 million in cap space. The Vikings must fill many roster holes and re-sign pivotal free agents. While they’ve got a solid budget to work with, Minnesota can’t go crazy at every single position. However, they could afford one to two premium buys, especially if Adofo-Mensah can take advantage of depreciated value as he has in the past.
If Adofo-Mensah indeed has a type, Los Angeles Chargers corner Asante Samuel Jr. might be a perfect spiritual successor to Byron Murphy Jr.
Samuel and Murphy are second-round picks who outplayed that pedigree. They have similar height/weight/speed profiles, with Samuel being a tick smaller and faster than Murphy. Samuel is 5’10”, 180 lbs., and runs a 4.45 40. Murphy is 5’11”, 190 lbs., with a 4.55 40-time.
They both play with great ball skills and cover well. Despite being slight, Samuel and Murphy are determined to play outside corner; Samuel excelled there early in his career.
And they both have “Jr.” in their name, of course.
Samuel excels in zone coverage, mainly when he can keep his eyes on the quarterback and break on the ball. While playing man coverage is not his primary role in Los Angeles, he’s proven to be sticky. PFF gave him a 66.3 single-coverage grade, which would be a stark improvement over what Minnesota saw from Stephon Gilmore or Shaquill Griffin in single coverage last year.
Perhaps most importantly, given Minnesota’s scheme, he’s excellent at reading route combinations and making the correct choices in zone coverage.
Samuel made his living primarily on the outside in Los Angeles. However, his quickness in space could also translate well inside if Flores puts him there. That inside/outside versatility was something the Vikings valued in Murphy, and Samuel may be a prime candidate to replace that.
However, Samuel comes with two big question marks: his tackling and price tag.
Samuel has struggled as a tackler in his career, partially due to his size and occasionally his effort. According to PFF, his missed-tackle rate was around 22.2%, which will raise some red flags. Coaching may mitigate some of that. However, at this point, we kinda know what we’re getting. It’s not someone I’d like to be tackling Saquon Barkley in space.
Samuel’s price take is the even bigger concern. On the surface, there seem to be quite a few starting cornerbacks on the free-agent market. However, those guys tend to fly off the board quickly. Samuel’s age, pedigree, and early-career success would make him appealing to many suitors. The question is whether his shoulder injury that ended his season four games into 2024 and his fall out of favor with the new defensive coaching staff in LA are enough to give some teams pause and drive down his price.
That just feels like a Kwesi guy to me. The combination of upside, established proof of concept as a great player, and enough question marks to convince themselves they’re getting a good value all feel like his type. And for any faults or question marks, if Samuel plays how he did in ‘22 and ‘23, this would be a major piece for this defense that needs to improve last year and possibly replace Murphy’s production if he moves on.
