Why the Vikings have not done enough in the 2022 offseason
By Luke Parrish
The Minnesota Vikings had a near-disastrous draft experience
The Vikings did a good job of adding value to the secondary with Lewis Cine at the end of Round 1 and Andrew Booth Jr. in the middle of the second round. However, the path it took to land those players was horrible and quite the learning experience for the new front office.
Minnesota traded back with the Lions who got a star wide receiver prospect in Jameson Williams and only had to give up, essentially, a third-round pick for the Vikings to drop 20 spots in the first round. The two teams swapped second-round picks but Minnesota traded down from there as well.
Kwesi did not tax the Lions for making a trade with a divisional foe and it cost the Vikings a ton of value as a result. I liked the Lewis Cine selection but the Vikings did not get enough value out of a trade down the board.
They did the same thing in Round 2 when they moved back into the same range as their original pick – moved from pick 46 to 42 – to land Andrew Booth. Booth was a candidate to go 12th overall in plenty of mock drafts but injuries are a legit concern.
Just like last year’s first-round pick Christian Darrisaw, Andrew Booth is dealing with core muscle injuries that can be an issue moving forward. After already having two core surgeries and missing out on pre-draft workouts, there are question marks about Booth heading into the NFL, which probably led to his slide out of the first round.
The draft class could turn out solid and that’s great, but the value of the Vikings’ draft was bad. They should have landed more in the trade with Detroit, especially considering the Lions have two picks in the first round next year.
The Minnesota Vikings entered the draft with picks 12, 46, and 77 and wound up making picks at 32, 42, 69, and 77. On the draft value chart, the Vikings went from 1,845 points to 1,535 points in the first three rounds of the draft. That’s an astounding drop in value.
For reference, that 310-point difference is equivalent to a late-second round selection that the Vikings lost by trading around the board. That cannot happen, especially with the roster trying to compete in the NFC.
Even beyond that point, the Vikings did not draft players that are going to make a significant impact. Brian Asamoah is going to be a rotational linebacker, Ed Ingram has troubling off-field issues to clear up before he adds another body to the guard battle, and Akayleb Evans is a developmental cornerback that is going to take some time to mold.
The Vikings added two players that can make a strong impact in 2022 and then another couple of guys that will fight for playing time. The rest of the draft class will be lucky to crack the rotation, let alone the roster.
I do like Cine and Booth but the rest of this draft class was confusing for a number of reasons. The Vikings did not do quite enough to assert themselves as threats in the NFC.