RandBall: At the time, experts thought the Vikings nailed the 2022 NFL draft

Vikings General Manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, on the job for just a few months when the 2022 NFL Draft rolled around, traded twice within the NFC North and ended up with four picks in the top 66.

What he did with those picks is a story of frustration in 2024.

First-round safety Lewis Cine, chosen with the No. 32 pick after Adofo-Mensah traded down from No. 12 (and eschewed safety Kyle Hamilton), was cut on Tuesday.

Second-round pick Andrew Booth Jr. was dealt away for fellow corner Nahshon Wright during training camp. Wright was waived Tuesday, while Booth did make the Cowboys’ 53-man roster.

Guard Ed Ingram, a late second-round pick, is on track to be a starter this season. But that’s more by default than anything he has earned after grading as Pro Football Focus’ 38th-best guard in 2023.

Linebacker Brian Asamoah II, taken early in the third round, survived cutdown day but largely figures to be relegated to special teams and backup duty for the third consecutive season.

With all those misses, particularly among the three defensive players, the Vikings must have been the laughingstock of post-draft grades in 2022, right?

Actually, that was hardly the case — as I talked about on Wednesday’s Daily Delivery podcast after a look back at what the experts said at the time.

Pro Football Focus put together a list of the top 250 prospects before the 2022 draft. PFF had Booth as the No. 23 prospect, Cine at No. 26 and Asamoah at No. 48, indicating the Vikings received good value in taking all of them with lesser picks. “Booth has some of the best feet in the draft class,” PFF wrote of the corner.

And in post-draft grades for the full seven rounds from various experts, the Vikings were generally given strong marks. In a sample of 18 grades, all but two were at least a C+ and more than half were at least a B, putting them roughly in the middle of the pack among the 32 NFL teams.

From USA Today, which graded the Vikings draft an A-minus: “Cine is a hammerhead downhill safety with violent intentions and the range and athleticism to win all over the field. And in Andrew Booth, Minnesota gets what it desperately needed — a legitimate cornerback who can play off and press, and has the range to match with NFL receivers.”

Very few were as prescient as SB Nation’s James Dator, who graded the draft an F and wrote: “I don’t know what to say, except I’m sorry Vikings fans. I’ve never seen a team work this much and achieve so little in a draft.”

That said, a failing grade might be too harsh. If Ingram sticks as a long-term starter while late 2022 picks Ty Chandler and Jalen Nailor develop into key offensive contributors, maybe we’ll need to take another look at this draft class a year from now.

Here are four more things to know today: