The Vikings Can’t Let Fear of Kwesi’s Mistakes Dictate the Draft

The Minnesota Vikings are entering next week’s draft without Kwesi Adofo-Mensah for the first time since 2021. His January ouster may have coincided with Sam Darnold leading the Seattle Seahawks to the Super Bowl. Still, Adofo-Mensah’s inability to draft across four draft cycles ultimately cost him his job.

Now, longtime capologist Rob Brzezinski is in charge of the war room, and he will be leaning heavily on the input of the coaching staff, specifically Kevin O’Connell and Brian Flores.

NFL teams tend to overcorrect, hiring the polar opposite when replacing head coaches or general managers. If a young, player-friendly head coach gets fired, teams may want to go with a veteran, old-school replacement. Once that coach is fired, the team will return to a player-friendly approach in the next hiring cycle.

Adofo-Mensah was known for his unconventional football background, which relied more on analytics than traditional scouting. His moves included trading back 20 spots in his first draft as the team’s GM, bypassing Kyle Hamilton and taking Lewis Cine instead. He later traded capital to move up and acquire J.J. McCarthy and Dallas Turner in 2024, leading to a small 2025 draft class with only five selections.

The instinct may be to do the opposite of whatever Adofo-Mensah would have done. As Dwight Schrute

When many fans hear the possibility of the Vikings trading down, they reply with, “HA! That worked so well last time!”

Minnesota has been linked to Oregon safety Dillon Thieneman in nearly every mock draft since the combine, and the Cine pick inevitably resurfaces in those conversations.

There are several reasons the Vikings could and maybe should try drafting someone besides Thieneman, but they have nothing to do with what Adofo-Mensah did back in 2022. The same can be said about a potential trade down to accumulate picks.

Safety is generally considered a non-premium position, and Thieneman isn’t even considered the top safety in this class. So passing on Thieneman for another player has more to do with positional value than with fear that he will be Cine 2.0.

A trade down in this draft could be optimal because this year’s class has less top-end talent than most years. Alec Lewis said on his show that scouts and executives around the league view picks 30 to 70 as the “sweet spot” in this draft for finding starters.

Unlike the 2022 draft, when Adofo-Mensah appeared ready to move down no matter how the board fell because he felt a trade to the back of the first round or even into the second round could be beneficial to the Vikings. Defensive linemen like Texas Tech’s Lee Hunter or Georgia’s Christen Miller could still be available. They could also take a cornerback like Tennessee’s Colton Hood or San Diego State’s Chris Johnson.

In the unlikely event a player like Ohio State safety Caleb Downs fell to 18, Minnesota would be foolish to trade down. But if their top options are off the board, they could still move down and find players of similar talent levels.

Last year, it almost felt as if the idea of repeating the sins of the 2022 season paralyzed Adofo-Mensah. He spoke about not wanting to regret missing out on Donovan Jackson in the hopes of stockpiling more picks.

“I think approaching this draft from a mindset of, ‘Hey, let's just hit. If the play is [to] hit the ball down the fairway, let's do that.’ If it's going to be four picks at four positions that we really want, four great character people, four skillsets we require, let's go do that, and we'll figure everything else out.”

The Vikings needed a guard and selected Ohio State’s Donovan Jackson at pick 24. Jackson was the 36th-ranked prospect on Wide Left’s Consensus Big Board. Still, it appeared the Houston Texans, slotted one spot behind Minnesota, were ready to take Jackson if he was available.

With Jackson off the board, the Texans traded down nine spots with the New York Giants. In addition to the 34th-overall pick, Houston received pick No. 99 and a third-round pick in the following draft, which became the 69th-overall selection.

One spot later, the Los Angeles Rams traded down 20 picks with the Atlanta Falcons, receiving a 2026 first-round pick in the trade. That turned into the 13th-overall selection in next week’s draft. So the Vikings could have moved down.

Jackson had an okay rookie season, receiving a 59.4 grade from PFF while battling through a wrist injury. He could also improve alongside a healthier offensive line environment in 2026, but was he worth an additional two third-round picks? How about an extra first-round pick this year?

During the league’s annual coaches’ meeting in Arizona at the end of March, Brzezinski told Vikings Entertainment Network’s Tatum Everett that drafting for need instead of “best player available” can get teams in trouble.

"I think it's the biggest reason why a lot of players fail in this business — and it's not just the player, it's complicit with the club — is you force your need," Brzezinski said. "And for a lot of reasons, it doesn't work out. You pass on a player of higher ability for a position of need. It puts undue pressure on the player, and there are other factors as well. It may be old school, but if you get your board set right and you look for the best player available, I think that's going to lead you down the right path.”

Does that mean Minnesota should dig its heels in and stay at pick No. 18? Not necessarily. They could find value in trading up for someone like Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love. He also plays a non-premium position but is considered one of the best-overall players in the draft.

If he fell to pick No. 9, could there actually be value in trading up and taking Love? The Vikings would have to believe that he can become one of the top backs in the league and take pressure off a passing game that revolves around Justin Jefferson?

Identifying the best player available is one thing. Setting yourself up to acquire that player is another. That could require identifying a blue-chip player and trading up once he hits a certain spot in the draft. It could mean trading down to stockpile picks and still winding up with the player you wanted all along, even if it invites some risk.

The draft is complicated. Simply not doing what Kwesi did is easy to say. Still, his drafts ended up subpar despite various approaches.

What the Vikings need to do is have conviction with their board, do their best to find players they want and need without overspending, and execute. There may have been many great ideas in recent drafts, but Minnesota never maximized its opportunities.

Brzezinski has a chance to inject this roster with young talent. He can’t let fear of repeating Adofo-Mensah’s mistakes get in the way of that goal.