Minnesota Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah admitted that first-round pick Lewis Cine hasn’t lived up to his billing through his first two seasons — a sign of some potential regret considering the Vikings could have had Baltimore Ravens All-Pro safety Kyle Hamilton.
Inheriting the 12th overall pick in the 2022 draft, the Vikings had many needs on defense, including at safety. Hamilton was the consensus No. 1 safety in that year’s draft class. However, the Vikings did not have a strong enough opinion on Hamilton to stick and pick at No. 12 overall, KSTP’s Darren Wolfson reported.
“They didn’t like him. I said it in the moment, I’ll reiterate it now: They didn’t have a healthy opinion for whatever reason,” Wolfson said on a January 11 episode of SKOR North’s “Mackey and Judd” podcast. ” I haven’t gone down the rabbit hole too much, but I just know on the surface, pre-draft, there was very little interest shown in Kyle Hamilton. The Kyle Hamilton camp just never got any sort of vibe that the Vikings were all-in on him or even half-in on him. He just wasn’t their guy.”
Instead of signing Hamilton, who earned All-Pro honors in just his second season as a cornerstone of the Ravens’ No. 1-ranked defense, the Vikings opted to trade back and take Cine 32nd overall — a move that produced two additional picks in the second round.
Coming off a lower leg fracture he suffered three weeks into his rookie season, Cine was a healthy scratch in 8 of 17 games and logged just eight defensive snaps this season — all in a blowout Week 16 loss to the Green Bay Packers.
Meanwhile Hamilton, on a four-year, $16.2 million contract, has outplayed his $3.6 million cap hit this season. Over The Cap has valued his 2023 performance to be worth $13 million this season.
Vikings GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah Addresses Lewis Cine, Andrew Booth’s Futures
Adofo-Mensah used his top two picks to rebuild the Vikings’ defense, however, Cine nor second-rounder Andrew Booth Jr. have become consistent contributors to the defense so far.
The Vikings general manager defended the two young players, saying player development isn’t a linear process, but also conceded that the NFL is a results-driven business.
“Cine didn’t have a rookie year pretty much,” Adofo-Mensah said , per The Star Tribune. “He got the injury and now he comes to learn a new defense with Brian Flores, so I think that has to be considered. Then, Andrew Booth, same thing, learning from a new defense, adjusting to this style of play. We are continuing to believe in our people, pour into them with our player development resources – all the things we have in this building – but, as I said earlier, it is a results business at the end of the day, and we will see where we end up.”
Vikings GM Adofo-Mensah Redeems Himself With 2nd Draft
Arriving in Minnesota in January 2022, Adofo-Mensah didn’t inherit an ideal situation to rebuild through the draft. the Vikings didn’t have a second-round pick and had only three selections inside the top 150. Through several trades, Adofo-Mensah ultimately turned those first three picks (No. 12, 46 and 77) into six selections — picks No. 32, 42, 59, 66, 165, and 169 — and four picks in the first two days.
Rd. 1, No. 32: S Lewis Cine
Rd. 2, No. 42: CB Andrew Booth Jr.
Rd. 2, No. 59: G Ed Ingram
Rd. 3, No. 66: LB Brian Asamoah
Rd. 4, No. 118: CB Akayleb Evans
Rd. 5, No. 165: DT Esezi Otomewo
Rd. 5, No. 169: RB Ty Chandler
Top 10 in WAR per snap:
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Raiders— Brad Spielberger, Esq. (@SpielbergerBrad) January 9, 2024
