In just over a couple of months, J.J. McCarthy will have plenty to prove. The starting quarterback position is up for grabs. If he thrives, he can take his throne as the prince that was promised with the 10th-overall pick in last year’s draft. If he fails, Kevin O’Connell will have Aaron Rodgers on speed dial.
It’s a lot of pressure to put on a player who will turn 22 in May – especially one who hasn’t played in a meaningful game since winning the national championship at Michigan in January 2024. However, as pressure is placed on McCarthy, there could be another job on the line.
Kwesi Adofo-Mensah’s tenure has been successful since coming to Minnesota in 2022. The Vikings have posted a 34-17 record over the past three seasons and have gone to the playoffs twice. More astonishingly, the Vikings have done it with just eight players from the roster Adofo-Mensah inherited following the 2021 season.
But while Kevin O’Connell has received his extension, Adofo-Mensah is still waiting for his. It’s a situation that’s starting to grow louder ahead of next month’s draft and could reach a fever pitch as McCarthy battles for a starting job during minicamp.
It starts with Adofo-Mensah’s resumé. Turning over a roster without tanking is a testament to O’Connell. However, it also should be credited to Adofo-Mensah. Several of the moves, including releasing Eric Kendricks, Adam Thielen, and Dalvin Cook, were labeled as “tough decisions” in the spring of 2023 but were to Minnesota’s benefit.
The big move came a year ago when Kirk Cousins sought his final mega deal. Cousins had successfully convinced the previous regime to give him two fully guaranteed contracts totaling $150 million, and Adofo-Mensah gave him a third as a bridge to the 2024 draft. While O’Connell vouched for Cousins’ return, Adofo-Mensah stayed firm to his price, and Cousins signed a four-year, $180 million contract with the Atlanta Falcons.
It’s been moves like this that have opened Minnesota’s championship window. Byron Murphy Jr. was an under-the-radar free agent before signing with the Vikings in the spring of 2023. Two years later, Murphy got a three-year, $54 million extension as the top cornerback on Brian Flores’ defense.
Harrison Phillips was another player the Vikings targeted when Adofo-Mensah arrived in Minnesota. A role player with the Buffalo Bills, Phillips jumped into the starting lineup and has been a Swiss Army knife in the trenches while becoming one of the best leaders on the team.
Josh Metellus’ extension in 2023 looks like a bargain. Jonathan Greenard, Andrew Van Ginkel, and Blake Cashman turned into a low-budget free-agent haul in 2024. Ivan Pace Jr. was a gem as an undrafted free agent, and Isaiah Rodgers could be the next to join this group.
That foundation allowed Adofo-Mensah to go wild in free agency. The Vikings signed Will Fries and Ryan Kelly to bolster the offensive line. They brought in Jonathan Allen and Javon Hargrave to add a pass-rushing presence to the defensive line. Minnesota structured each of these signings to keep cap flexibility if it needed to call Rodgers or make a trade at the deadline this fall. But it also comes with a caveat.
The Vikings have not drafted well in the Adofo-Mensah era. The 2022 draft class may be one of the worst in franchise history. Ed Ingram joined a group of busts that included Lewis Cine, Andrew Booth, and Akayleb Evans. Even players who remain on the team from this class (Ty Chandler, Jalen Nailor, and Brian Asamoah) haven’t made enough of an impact to keep the Vikings from paying their replacements.
Jordan Addison was a clear victory in the 2023 class, but the jury is still out on Mekhi Blackmon after he tore his ACL during the first training camp practice last summer. Jay Ward has been a special teams player, but Jaquelin Roy, Jaren Hall, and DeWayne McBride are no longer with the team. The McBride pick is especially notable after Adofo-Mensah revealed he had a “starter’s grade” on the UAB product.
Last year’s class was another example. McCarthy’s injury was unfortunate but compromised by Dallas Turner’s limited impact as a rookie. Walter Rouse, Michael Jurgens, and Levi Drake Rodriguez had a redshirt rookie season, and Will Reichard struggled after a hot start at kicker.
If you were to grade this group, it would probably be below average. While it can be fixed in free agency, it’s not a long-term model for success, which begs the question of whether Adofo-Mensah’s process is working.
For O’Connell, he’s proven that he is integral to Minnesota’s success. It’s why the team immediately kept him when rumors of a trade or “tension” with Adofo-Mensah surfaced last summer. However, the Wilfs may still have some questions about the general manager.
It could also be that Adofo-Mensah has opted to focus on the task at hand. It’s like when a player negotiates an extension during training camp but cuts things off when the season begins, and something Adofo-Mensah alluded to during a press conference last week.
“It’s probably on me that it’s not going quicker because I wake up every morning focused on the things that I need to focus on to get this team where they want to go,” Adofo-Mensah said.
In the end, there figures to be more good than bad, and a good draft can flip the narrative that gets Adofo-Mensah an extension. But the longer it goes, the more pundits can speculate on his future, making McCarthy’s and the rest of the roster’s progress an important development in the coming weeks.
