Minnesota Vikings 2022 NFL Draft grade: D
32. Lewis Cine, S, Georgia
42. Andrew Booth Jr., CB, Clemson
59. Ed Ingram, OL, LSU
66. Brian Asamoah, LB, Oklahoma
118. Akayleb Evans, CB, Missouri
165. Esezi Otomewo, EDGE, Minnesota
169. Ty Chandler, RB, North Carolina
184. Vederian Lowe, OL, Illinois
191. Jalen Nailor, WR, Michigan State
227. Nick Muse, TE, South Carolina
As I’m putting together these draft grades, the Vikings are not the last team on my list, but they might end up with the worst grade when all is said and done.
The players the Vikings selected keep this from being an “F” grade from me.
Lewis Cine and Andrew Booth should be starters very soon for Ed Donatell but I think the Vikings could have gotten much better value by just staying put with their original picks and getting Kyle Hamilton and then trading up a couple of spots for Booth.
Ed Ingram is a good fit for Kevin O’Connell’s offense but the Vikings fell prey to the run on interior offensive line that was happening and they took him a round early.
Brian Asamoah was a solid pick as an off-ball linebacker coming in, another option for Ed Donatell’s new-look defense.
Esezi Otomewo will give the Vikings’ defense another option at the defensive end position with length.
Ty Chandler has speed at the linebacker position and I think he was one of the best picks the Vikings made on Day 3.
The reason this team gets a D grade is simply the process of new GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah.
He traded the 12th overall pick and 26th overall pick to the Detroit Lions for picks 32, 34, and 66. That is a loss of a high third-round pick on the trade value chart, which is not a small gap in value. Not only did he lose tremendous value in the trade back, but he also got a worse player than he otherwise could have gotten and he allowed a division rival to get a playmaker they coveted.
If once wasn’t enough, the Vikings made sure everyone knew they didn’t have opposition to trading with division rivals, sending the 34th overall pick to the Green Bay Packers so they could select Christian Watson.
I think these were two of the dumbest trades I have ever seen in the draft not only in terms of the value coming back to the Vikings but also the fact that they allowed their division rivals to select coveted weapons for their offenses.
The players in this class need to hit, but Adofo-Mensah’s trades bring this grade down extremely low for me.