Deals by new Vikings GM creating wrong kind of draft buzz

Mike O'Hara has covered the Detroit Lions as a newspaper beat reporter or team website columnist since 1977. In other words, he's probably chronicled more dysfunctional football and discombobulated drafting of players than anyone walking the planet.

So it's rare in O'Hara's world to write these words on opening night of the draft: "Hard to choose which was more exciting for Lions fans. GM Brad Holmes trading up into the first round, or the player he got — a wide receiver (Alabama's Jameson Williams) who elevates the offense. Call it a tie — and nobody can complain about hating this one."

Take a bow, Vikings General Manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah. Twitter suggests your honeymoon in Minnesota is over, but you have managed to bring a rare ray of hope to a woebegone Lions franchise that hasn't won a playoff game since Jan. 5, 1992.

"[Williams] is a guy who can stretch the field deep without any sweat," Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson said. "He's electric. He's got juice. Once he gets healthy, we're going to have something to cook with. It's going to make the whole offense, the team, better. It's going to be fun."

Vikings fans had about 20 hours to shake off dropping from 12 to 32 and get re-energized about using Detroit's pick at 34.

Then …

Kwesi upped the anger ante by sending that pick to … Green Bay?! The Packers used it to make Aaron Rodgers happy with North Dakota State's Christian Watson, a receiver some tabbed as a first-round talent.

Detroit, meanwhile, viewed Williams as a top-5 pick before he tore an ACL in the national championship game. Williams, who says he's ahead of schedule in his recovery and is targeting an August return to the field, didn't run a 40-yard dash for scouts, but didn't have to for the Lions to fall in love with him.

Detroit is among the teams that rely on GPS gizmos and data. And, apparently, those devices confirm to the human eye that the 6-1, 179-pound Williams can flat-out fly, as evidenced by his Alabama season-record four touchdowns of 70-plus yards and nation-leading 11 TDs of 30-plus yards.

"Amongst all the receivers, it's pretty evident his speed was the best," Holmes said. "He's explosive. He's fast. But what gets overlooked is this guy is gritty. He's a dog. He loves football."

The first round featured a record nine trades. One came right before the Vikings trade. Seven came in the 15 picks that followed.

To drop 20 spots, the Vikings got a flip of second-round picks and a third-rounder. No other team traded down farther than nine spots. The Eagles gave up the 18^th pick, but got disgruntled receiver A.J. Brown, whom the Titans could no longer afford. The Cardinals gave up the 23^rd pick, but got disgruntled receiver Marquise Brown, whom the Ravens no longer could afford.

Disgruntled veteran receivers that teams no longer can afford appears to be trending (Also see: Hill, Tyreek; Adams, Davante). Just a thought that came to mind as the Vikings handed the salary cap-friendly Williams and Watson to division foes.

Those are just two of the many tentacles of this draft that will make it fascinating to watch as history eventually renders the only verdict on Kwesi's first draft that will matter.

Was the rookie fleeced by Detroit and foolish to willingly say meh to 20 first-round opportunities before taking Georgia safety Lewis Cine? Should he have sat idle for nine picks on Day 2 before trading up for Clemson's Andrew Booth Jr., the seventh cornerback taken overall and third of the day, including one who went to Chicago?

Or did Adofo-Mensah judge the depth of the draft accurately and nail his picks in a way that will stand up to comparisons that go beyond what Williams and Watson will do in the NFC North? Such as …

"We had a really rigorous process coming into this where we did a collaborative discussion with everybody in the building," Adofo-Mensah said of the trade with Detroit. "We knew where why we did what we did. … That's ultimately the decision we came to."

That may be. But, right or wrong, only one guy ultimately answers for those decisions. Ask Rick Spielman.