Kwesi Adofo-Mensah has learned from the failure of his infamous 2022 draft

Adofo-Mensah admitted on Thursday that he may have tried to do too much at once in his first draft.

Dec 24, 2023; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah looks on before the game against the Detroit Lions at U.S. Bank Stadium. / Matt Krohn-USA TODAY Sports

Kwesi Adofo-Mensah's infamous first draft as the Vikings' general manager has come back into focus this month. Three weeks ago, second-round pick Andrew Booth Jr. was traded to the Cowboys. This week, first-rounder Lewis Cine — Adofo-Mensah's first draft pick, the player he took after a stunning trade back from pick 12 to pick 32 — was waived and signed to the Bills' practice squad.

Two top-45 draft picks, both gone before their third seasons without making any real impact. And there's more. Ed Ingram, another second-rounder, improved to mediocre last year after being one of the worst starting offensive linemen in the league as a rookie. Brian Asamoah and Akayleb Evans are barely clinging to 53-man roster spots as backups. Finding a couple potential late-round gems in Ty Chandler and Jalen Nailor isn't nearly enough to make Adofo-Mensah's first draft class look like anything other than a swing and a miss.

Speaking to the media on Thursday, Adofo-Mensah was candid and open about the 2022 draft, admitting that he may have tried to do too much at once back then.

"I've thought a lot about those days and competing, trying to compete on multiple timelines and different things like that," he said. "I had a conversation with Kevin (O’Connell), this is probably a year ago or something, around then. I asked him one time, what was it like when we were down 33-0 (against the Colts in '22)? You know, when you feel like you're down?"

"When I entered the building, trying to compete, aging roster, salary cap stuff, I think there was times where I felt down 33-0. As we all know, that game, it starts with one play, one drive, and you build. I think at times I might have been guilty of trying to maybe have a 33-point play all at once. I think once I identified that, I kind of really just — I think if you've seen since then, it's been really, foundationally, just taking good steps, building to a certain critical point where I think we compete over the long term."

What does he mean by trying to have a 33-point play all at once?

"I would say just a lot of times I think you can be creative enough to think of your issues, but that can be a bad thing, right?" Adofo-Mensah said. "Sometimes it might be just ... 'Hey, let's just put one foot in front of the other and just make one decision after the other.'"

It's an interesting metaphor for the GM to use. As he thinks back to that first draft, which took place just a few months after he was hired, he's acknowledging that he might've been impatient in attempting to fix all of the Vikings' issues quickly. Perhaps that was a factor in the decision to trade down from 12 to 32 and accumulate more picks, among a barrage of other deals.

"What you don't want to do is try and solve all of the issues at once, right?" he said. "I think you still want to have long and short-term horizons when you make decisions, but you just don't want to be in a rush to get to that end goal. You want to be deliberate in your process, and we've done a really good job doing that (since then)."

What's most notable is that Adofo-Mensah said he's learned from the experience and tried to grow from it. Since then, his draft classes have been highlighted by a trio of promising first-rounders in Jordan Addison, J.J. McCarthy, and Dallas Turner. He shouldn't be judged solely on that first class, especially considering the shortened process and how random the draft can be. The decision to trade back 20 spots was a strange one in the moment, but who knew that Cine and Booth and so many others from the class would flop?

Adofo-Mensah and the Vikings have attempted to learn lessons from what happened in 2022 — at least when it comes to things that they can control — and put it behind them. When it comes to players like Cine and Booth, they recognized that it was best for both parties to move on and get a fresh start.

"If it gets to a place where from both sides, you decide it's best if you part ways, I think that's when you do it," Adofo-Mensah said. "They wanted nothing more than to be great Minnesota Vikings and life doesn't always work out the way you wanted to — and sometimes for life's benefit, it doesn't. They have my number forever and I wish them the best."