Get all your news in one place.

100’s of premium titles.
One app.

Start reading

Get all your news in one place.

100’s of premium titles. One news app.

Start reading

Sports Illustrated

Sport

Tom Dierberger

In the End, Kwesi Adofo-Mensah’s Shaky NFL Draft History Came Back to Haunt Him

Vikings NFL JJ McCarthy Jordan Addison Kwesi AdofoMensah Minnesota (Organization) Sam Darnold Donovan Jackson Dallas Turner Jalen Nailor

The Vikings are shifting into a new era in their front office.

Minnesota fired general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah on Friday, marking an end to the 44-year-old’s stint with the Vikings after four seasons. It was a stunning move considering the general manager conducted his normal end-of-season press conference over two weeks ago and had signed a contract extension in May.

The timing looks even more suspect considering former Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold, who departed last offseason to sign a three-year contract with the Seahawks, led Seattle to the NFC’s No. 1 seed and a Super Bowl LX appearance. Meanwhile, the Vikings struggled to a 9–8 record while relying on former first-round pick J.J. McCarthy to take the reins of a talented offense.

Vikings owner Mark Wilf was asked in a press conference Friday whether parting ways with Darnold ultimately cost Adofo-Mensah his job.

“It’s not necessarily a fair thing to talk about any one decision, and that's the way we approach it,”Wilf said Friday. “It’s a body of work, it’s a cumulative set of decisions. It’s four years of where we’ve been. We as ownership, and I know our fans, feel it and our entire organization feels it. We need to get to a better place. This is strictly an ownership and organizational decision; we feel this is the best path going forward. It’s not about one player, one decision, one draft pick. It’s about organizationally what we can do the best for our organization and our fans.”

Although the decision at quarterback hasn’t aged well, the Vikings did reportedly offer Darnold a similar contract to the three-year, $100.5 million deal he signed with Seattle. Sure, Minnesota could have outbid the Seahawks, but the plan was to always eventually hand the franchise over to McCarthy.

The Darnold move will get the headlines—and deservedly so—but perhaps even a bigger reason why Adofo-Mensah was fired on Friday was his lack of success in the NFL draft.

Here’s a look back at the Vikings’ four draft classes under Adofo-Mensah’s watch:

Vikings’ 2022 NFL draft class: A bad start

Adofo-Mensah’s biggest mistake in any draft arguably occurred in the first round he led as the Vikings’ general manager. Entering the draft with the No. 12 pick, the Vikings traded back to No. 32, allowing the division rival Lions to select wide receiver Jameson Williams. Two picks later at No. 14, the Ravens selected safety Kyle Hamilton, who has developed into a three-time All-Pro in Baltimore’s secondary. The Vikings settled for a different safety at No. 32 in Lewis Cine, who appeared in 10 games with no starts for Minnesota before being waived in 2024.

Had they stayed at No. 12 and taken the best safety available, the Vikings could’ve had the game-changing Hamilton starting opposite Harrison Smith in Brian Flores’s defense.

Elsewhere in the draft, wide receiver Jalen Nailor has proven to be a nice find (29 catches for 444 yards and four touchdowns in 2025), but that’s pretty much it.

Note: Underlined font indicates the player is still with the Vikings.

Round 1—DB Lewis Cine: Appeared in 10 games before being cut in 2024.
Round 2—CB Andrew Booth: Started two games before being traded to Dallas in 2024.
Round 2—G Ed Ingram: Strugged in 41 starts in Minnesota from 2022 to ‘24 before being traded to Houston for a sixth-round pick.
Round 3—LB Brian Asamoah: Cut in 2025 after three seasons on special teams.
Round 4—DB Akayleb Evans: Struggled in 17 starts before being cut in November 2024.
Round 5—DT Esezi Otomewo: Appeared in five games; waived in 2023.
Round 6—OL Vederian Lowe: Traded to Patriots in 2023 for a sixth-round pick.
Round 6—WR Jalen Nailor: 69 catches for 1,066 yards and 11 touchdowns over four seasons. ... Carved out a role as WR3 behind Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison.
Round 7—TE Nick Muse: Played 19 offensive snaps over three seasons for Minnesota before being signed to the Eagles’ practice squad in January 2025.

Vikings’ 2023 NFL draft class: There’s Addison and the rest

Adofo-Mensah used the No. 23 pick in the ‘23 draft to select USC receiver Jordan Addison, who looked like he had serious star potential before taking a step back in ‘25 with a career-low 42 catches for 610 yards and three touchdowns, a season that included a handful of bad drops that didn’t exactly help quarterback J.J. McCarthy’s bottom line.

Addison is one of two ‘23 draft class members still on the Vikings’ roster heading into the 2026 season. Considering his drop off in play and off-the-field issues, it’s not a guarantee that Addison will be in a Vikings uniform for the long term.

Note: Underlined font indicates the player is still with the Vikings.

Round 1—WR Jordan Addison: Developed into a solid No. 2 option at receiver behind Justin Jefferson. ... 175 career receptions for 2,396 yards and 22 touchdowns over three seasons.
Round 3—CB Mekhi Blackmon: Started three games as a rookie; traded to Colts in August 2025 for a sixth-round pick.
Round 4—S Jay Ward: Played a career-high 23% of the defensive snaps in 2025.
Round 5—DT Jaquelin Roy: Cut in August 2024.
Round 5—QB Jaren Hall: Two starts as a rookie in ‘23, logged a 70.4 passer rating with no touchdowns and one interception. Cut by Minnesota in August 2024.
Round 7—RB DeWayne McBride: Practice squad player before being cut in August 2024.

Vikings’ 2024 NFL draft class: Selecting ‘Nine’

When Kirk Cousins bolted for Atlanta in March, the Vikings entered the 2024 draft knowing they’d probably draft a quarterback in the first round. Rumors swirled that they intended to trade up to a top-three selection to draft Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels or Drake Maye, but the Bears, Commanders and Patriots didn’t bite, and Minnesota selected McCarthy with the No. 10 pick.

Despite his shortcomings in other drafts, Adofo-Mensah’s legacy will always be tied most to how McCarthy turns out. Through two seasons—one lost to injury and another that exposed some ugly growing pains—it’s fair to say “Nine” isn’t where the Vikings had hoped when they drafted him in April 2024.

As it stands today, Adofo-Mensah’s best pick as general manager of the Vikings was a 2024 sixth-round pick in Alabama kicker Will Reichard, who went 33-for-35 on field goals in 2025 and made 11 kicks from beyond 50 yards en route to an All-Pro nod.

Note: Underlined font indicates the player is still with the Vikings.

Round 1—QB J.J. McCarthy: Missed rookie season due to two knee surgeries; 72.4 passer rating with 11 TDs and 12 INT in 10 starts in ‘25
Round 1—LB Dallas Turner: Logged 11 tackles for loss and eight sacks in ‘25 after a disappointing rookie year.
Round 4—DB Khyree Jackson: Tragically died in a car accident in July 2024.
Round 6—OL Walter Rouse: Eight starts at tackle over his first two seasons
Round 6—K Will Reichard: 57-for-65 on field goals (87.7%) and 69-for-69 on extra points over two seasons, which includes an All-Pro campaign in ‘25.
Round 7—OL Michael Jurgens: Three starts in ‘25 and ranked 37th of 40 qualified centers, per PFF.
Round 7—DT Levi Drake Rodriguez: A nice surprise in his second season, Rodriguez tallied 43 tackles and two sacks while playing nearly half of the defensive snaps in 2025.

Vikings’ 2025 NFL draft class: More of the same

The Vikings’ interior line was exposed in their season-ending 27–9 loss to the Rams in the wild-card round, so the front office went to work in the offseason. They signed center Ryan Kelly and guard Will Fries in free agency, and drafted guard Donovan Jackson with the No. 24 pick in the first round. Jackson started 14 games and graded out to be a middle-of-the-road guard as a rookie, per PFF.

He ended up being the only rookie to heavily contribute to the 2025 Vikings.

Note: Underlined font indicates the player is still with the Vikings.

Round 1—OL Donovan Jackson: 14 starts at guard; two sacks allowed and four penalties.
Round 3—WR Tai Felton: Three catches for 25 yards while playing 46 total offensive snaps. Also had seven kick returns and averaged 25.4 yards per return.
Round 5—DE Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins: Contributed on the defensive line, appearing in 14 games and logging 12 tackles with one sack.
Round 6—LB Kobe King: Placed on waivers in October and claimed by the Jets.
Round 6—TE Gavin Bartholomew: Spent the entire year on injured reserve with a back injury.