NFL draft weekend will bring clarity to Vikings plans despite team having only handful of picks

The Vikings, at the moment, have only five picks for the second draft of Kwesi Adofo-Mensah's and Kevin O'Connell's time running the team. They will not be on the clock until the 23rd pick of the first round and are not slated to pick again until the 87th overall choice in the third round.

In some ways, though, the actions the Vikings take in the next two weeks could have a more significant effect on the future of the organization than the moves they made in Adofo-Mensah's first draft.

Draft weekend could bring more clarity to the future of edge rusher Za'Darius Smith, who posted his goodbye to Minnesota on social media in March and might be traded if the Vikings can find the right fit. The Vikings, who brought back Alexander Mattison on a two-year deal, could also move running back Dalvin Cook for a draft pick instead of keeping him at his $14.1 million salary.

In a pre-draft news conference Thursday that centered as much on the team's current roster as its upcoming rookie class, Adofo-Mensah said the Vikings are in "ongoing conversations" with both players, while adding a Cook-Mattison backfield combo could work "in theory."

The draft also could crystallize the Vikings' plans at quarterback, where Kirk Cousins is scheduled to hit free agency after 2023. O'Connell said he'd love to have a young quarterback developing behind 34-year-old Cousins but added, "I don't think you ever sacrifice it being the right player."

For a franchise coming off both an NFC North title and a series of changes, the final major roster-building event of the NFL offseason could be pivotal for a number of reasons.

"We've had the ability to take player development very, very seriously," Adofo-Mensah said. "And that starts on draft day, when we have the coaches in the process [to say], 'Hey, this is how we're going to use this player.' And that continues throughout the year."

Coming off a 13-win season, the Vikings parted ways with former Pro Bowlers Eric Kendricks and Adam Thielen while letting defensive starters Patrick Peterson and Dalvin Tomlinson leave in free agency. They're hoping for greater contributions from a 2022 rookie class that has had three defensive backs (Lewis Cine, Andrew Booth and Akayleb Evans) rehabbing injuries in the team's practice facility this offseason.

"I feel like there's this dynamic now of the draft where it's like every Christmas is a new Christmas and you forget what you got last year," Adofo-Mensah said. "There's a lot of people that you probably don't really know about that we're really excited about in this building. They're almost part of this draft class."

The Vikings will count on 2022 draft picks Cine, Booth, Evans, linebacker Brian Asamoah and possibly wide receiver Jalen Nailor to play bigger roles when the team's offseason program starts Monday. They'll wait to see whether players like Smith are in the building for the start of voluntary offseason workouts. And they'll try to make the most of a draft with a number of areas where they could spend their picks.

Adofo-Mensah talked Thursday about how much smoother his draft preparation has been this year than it was last year, when he was trying to get settled in Minnesota, build out his staff and catch up on the draft process after getting hired in late January.

"The fire hose isn't going as much as it was last year," he said. "There are things I put in my GM book [to prepare for job interviews] and they're just words on a page at that point, but now they've come to life with input from Kevin and we build something great."

The 2023 offseason, though, has brought plenty of change to Minnesota. The 2023 draft could be another important moment in the Vikings' process of reshaping their roster.

"To me, it's not necessarily about the number of picks; it's about the impact of those picks," Adofo-Mensah said. "If you can find an impact player with your first pick, you don't have to trade back to get two players who might not add up to that same impact. So we're going to do it the way we've always done it: try to find impactful players to fit our culture and the way we're trying to go about business."