The new Minnesota Vikings regime has made rebuilding the defense through the draft a priority — but they could part ways with their biggest investment in the draft, Lewis Cine, before the start of next season.
Selected 32nd overall in the 2022 draft, Cine has not lived up to his first-round draft stock the past two years. He missed the majority of his rookie season after suffering a lower leg fracture in October 2022. But since making a full recovery, Cine has not made an impact in Brian Flores’ scheme.
Cine had played only special teams until Week 17 when he logged his first defensive snaps of the season in a blowout loss to the Green Bay Packers on December 31. Entering the Vikings’ season finale, Cine has appeared in just six games, played eight defensive snaps and has been a healthy scratch several times this season.
Considering his lack of contributions so far in his career, next training camp could be make or break for Cine, according to SKOR North’s Judd Zulgad, formerly of The Star Tribune.
“Odds are Lewis Cine will return to the Vikings next season, but it won’t be a shocker if the team decides to move on from the 2022 first-round pick,” Zulgad wrote for the Vikings Wire. “The Vikings can’t be happy with seeing Adofo-Mensah’s first-ever opening round pick be a frequent inactive.”
New Vikings Regime’s 1st Draft is Looking Rough
Adofo-Mensah’s decision to trade down in his first draft has proven costly for Minnesota.
The Vikings had a need at safety and could have stuck at No. 12 and picked Kyle Hamilton, who made his first Pro Bowl this season with the Baltimore Ravens, who selected the Washington product 14th overall.
Instead, the Vikings traded back twice in the first two rounds, allowing the Detroit Lions and Packers to draft wide receivers, and used the resulting picks to land Cine at No. 32 overall, cornerback Andrew Booth Jr. 42nd overall in the second round and linebacker Brian Asamoah 66th overall in the third round.
Cine has barely contributed despite Flores’ scheme often using three safeties. Booth is fourth on the cornerback depth chart but has played over 100 defensive snaps this season. Asamoah, deemed a breakout candidate and starter in the preseason, lost his role to undrafted rookie Ivan Pace Jr. Asamoah has played just 36 snaps this season.
Adofo-Mensah hoped his first three draft picks would be foundational to the Vikings’ defensive rebuild, but through two years, the unit is still lacking talent and depth at several positions.
Vikings’ 2024 Draft to See More Investment on Defense
There’s a strong chance that the Vikings’ 2024 draft will be defined by a quarterback — but the team’s selection of defenders could be make-or-break for the new regime.
The Vikings could lose potentially three of their top edge rushers Danielle Hunter, D.J. Wonnum and Marcus Davenport, leaving Patrick Jones II as their top returning edge rusher under contract for the 2024 season.
There’s also a case to be made for drafting a dominant defensive interior lineman who could create pressure between the tackles.
And of course, you can never have too many cornerbacks. Third-round rookie Mekhi Blackmon has played well in his first year, while Akayleb Evans has had a rollercoaster second season after being selected in the fourth round of the 2022 draft.
Any of those three positions could use a first-round selection, but that may not be a possibility with the need to find a quarterback of the future.
