The Vikings Have Stockpiled a Huge Amount of Ammunition

[Cliff]

The Vikings have been hard at work stockpiling ammunition for a particular facet of the 2026 offseason: the draft. Indeed, Kwesi Adofo-Mensah has been picking up picks. The team’s normal allotment of draft selections remains mostly intact. There has then been an effort to enhance the available selections through both the compensatory process (read more) alongside the team’s recent trade efforts (Harrison Phillips, Sam Howell, & Mekhi Blackmon). The Vikings Have Stockpiled Picks Aplenty for ’26 Recently, Alec Lewis of The Athletic did a tally, laying out all of the upcoming draft selections for Kwesi Adofo Mensah:

— 1st
— 2nd
— 3rd
— 3rd (comp for Sam Darnold)
— 4th (comp for Daniel Jones)
— 5th
— 5th (Eagles)
— 5th (comp for Cam Robinson)
— 7th
— 7th (Texans)

Lewis does good work, but there are a few notes to tack on. The comp picks are a projection, meaning they aren’t locked into place with 100% certainty. The Darnold and Robinson ones look good, but Daniel Jones is going to need to maintain his starting spot for a good portion of 2025 for the pick to be a 4th and not a 5th. Even with that being true, the Vikings have nevertheless assembled a huge pile of picks.

Add up all the picks and there are eleven in total. Give the GM a bit of room to play within the event itself — the 2026 NFL Draft — and he could multiply those picks by trading down. Or, alternatively, Adofo-Mensah could get bold, jumping up to grab a promising talent who is tumbling down the board. Another factor that will be fairly unique for the GM is that there’s a strong cluster of high picks. The Vikings haven’t had a 2nd-Round selection for three consecutive drafts. For a little while, the 2nd was where Minnesota uncovered some excellent talent. That’s how all of Brian O’Neill, Dalvin Cook, and Eric Kendricks (among others) became Vikings. As a result, there isn’t a huge gulf in between picks (at least not yet). In the 2025 NFL Draft, the Vikings picked at No. 24 and then waited until No. 102. In the 2024 NFL Draft, the Vikings picked at No. 17 and then waited until No. 108. In the 2023 NFL Draft, the Vikings picked at No. 23 and then waited until No. 102. Possessing picks in the 1st, 2nd, and a pair in the 3rd guards against that occurring in 2026 (again, per the current outlook).

Next offseason, the Vikings are going to be stepping into a huge amount of salary cap debt. Even after offloading Harrison Phillips, Minnesota is in the red by more than $60 million. Very good chance, folks, that the cap number changes before 2026 arrives, but the general idea is still going to apply: cap space will be limited. Free agency, quite possibly, could be quite tame. Rather than a spending spree, there could be some value adds as the GM shows more constraint than normal. Maybe there will be some creative accounting to backload a deal(s), but a free agency as frisky as 2025 isn’t happening. How does a team add talent when there’s so little cap room? Draft picks. The team can still add reinforcements, turning to the draft — complete with the contracts that are largely pre-negotiated — to get help for the roster. Doing so keeps the cost down while nevertheless ratcheting up the roster competition.

Before it’s all said and done, some of those draft picks may burn a hole in Kwesi Adofo-Mensah’s pocket. The Vikings have the option to get aggressive in 2025, cashing in some of those selections for help in the immediate by trading them away. There is, after all, a good amount of open cap room presently, allowing for additions to be made that help in the here and now. Regardless, the broader point should remain that Minnesota is moving ahead with ample draft selections tucked away, meaning the GM will have the ability to onboard lots of talent within the next draft.

Source: https://vikingsterritory.com/2025/news/ ... -huge-ammo

[VikingsVictorious]

11 picks with 2 in the 3rd and 3 in the 5th. It's promising.

[psjordan]

11 picks with 2 in the 3rd and 3 in the 5th. It's promising.

KAM's track record leaves me unfazed at having a bunch of picks.

[VikingsVictorious]

11 picks with 2 in the 3rd and 3 in the 5th. It's promising.

KAM's track record leaves me unfazed at having a bunch of picks.

The more picks we have the better. There's no law saying the picks made by Kwesi will be bad even if many prior picks have been.

[Cliff]

11 picks with 2 in the 3rd and 3 in the 5th. It's promising.

KAM's track record leaves me unfazed at having a bunch of picks.

There have been some reaches but haven't really been super crazy head scratchers with his picks. They haven't panned out, but it's not necessarily because KAM did something crazy. For 2022 Cine was projected for the 2nd round and he was picked with the very last pick of the 1st round. Booth was projected to the 2nd round. Ed Ingram is a bit of a head scratcher, he was mostly projected to the 5th round and they picked him in the 2nd. Brian Asamoah was projected 3rd or 4th round and Vikings got him in the 3rd.

In retrospect 2022 was a terrible draft, but it's with the help of hindsight that we know that. NFL.com gave the 2022 draft an A- and PFF gave them a B.

In the end it falls on KAM to pick correctly and if picks don't pan out it's on him, but some of it is really just some bad luck.

[VikingsVictorious]

KAM's track record leaves me unfazed at having a bunch of picks.

There have been some reaches but haven't really been super crazy head scratchers with his picks. They haven't panned out, but it's not necessarily because KAM did something crazy. For 2022 Cine was projected for the 2nd round and he was picked with the very last pick of the 1st round. Booth was projected to the 2nd round. Ed Ingram is a bit of a head scratcher, he was mostly projected to the 5th round and they picked him in the 2nd. Brian Asamoah was projected 3rd or 4th round and Vikings got him in the 3rd.

In retrospect 2022 was a terrible draft, but it's with the help of hindsight that we know that. NFL.com gave the 2022 draft an A- and PFF gave them a B.

In the end it falls on KAM to pick correctly and if picks don't pan out it's on him, but some of it is really just some bad luck.

Very good points.

[psjordan]

KAM's track record leaves me unfazed at having a bunch of picks.

There have been some reaches but haven't really been super crazy head scratchers with his picks... For 2022 Cine was projected for the 2nd round and he was picked with the very last pick of the 1st round.

Oh but it’s much worse than that. It's not so much the picks, but the opportunity cost where KAM is killing us IMO.
In 2022, we gave DET the #12 (WR Williams) and #46 (stiff DL) picks essentially for:
Passing on Kyle Hamilton (#14 to BAL), the only real S with a “true” 1st round grade. And of course:
"Kyle Hamilton signed a record-setting four-year contract extension Wednesday morning, securing the future of the NFL's best safety in Baltimore long-term and making Hamilton the league's highest-paid safety. According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, it's a $100.4 million deal that includes $82 million guaranteed."
Then in a dizzying number of related and subsequent trades to that DET trade, we:
Gave GB the pick for WR C. Watson.
Gave IND the pick for WR A. Pierce.
We received:
Cine
Ingram
Asamoah
Booth
Muse
Otemewo
Chandler

Now, we can analyze all that and say Cine got hurt and who knows what would have happened otherwise, we can say thank goodness we passed on Hamilton because look at the contract hit we would've had to take (I’m being facetious), we can say Hamilton was rated as too slow, we can say a lot of things. But we essentially gave other teams the “top” safety in the league and some pretty good WR’s for Ty Chandler. TY CHANDLER.

In the end it falls on KAM to pick correctly and if picks don't pan out it's on him, but some of it is really just some bad luck.

Yeah, I’m not buying the “bad luck” thing. Far too many of his choices (and I mean trades AND picks) have been absolute zeroes. So, back to having a bunch of picks - other than the fact it might increase our chances of moving up in the draft - and therefore increase our chances of getting an actual player who sticks - I currently see zero to get excited about in terms of draft volume in KAM’s hands.

[makila]

There have been some reaches but haven't really been super crazy head scratchers with his picks... For 2022 Cine was projected for the 2nd round and he was picked with the very last pick of the 1st round.

Oh but it’s much worse than that. It's not so much the picks, but the opportunity cost where KAM is killing us IMO.
In 2022, we gave DET the #12 (WR Williams) and #46 (stiff DL) picks essentially for:
Passing on Kyle Hamilton (#14 to BAL), the only real S with a “true” 1st round grade. And of course:
"Kyle Hamilton signed a record-setting four-year contract extension Wednesday morning, securing the future of the NFL's best safety in Baltimore long-term and making Hamilton the league's highest-paid safety. According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, it's a $100.4 million deal that includes $82 million guaranteed."
Then in a dizzying number of related and subsequent trades to that DET trade, we:
Gave GB the pick for WR C. Watson.
Gave IND the pick for WR A. Pierce.
We received:
Cine
Ingram
Asamoah
Booth
Muse
Otemewo
Chandler

Now, we can analyze all that and say Cine got hurt and who knows what would have happened otherwise, we can say thank goodness we passed on Hamilton because look at the contract hit we would've had to take (I’m being facetious), we can say Hamilton was rated as too slow, we can say a lot of things. But we essentially gave other teams the “top” safety in the league and some pretty good WR’s for Ty Chandler. TY CHANDLER.

In the end it falls on KAM to pick correctly and if picks don't pan out it's on him, but some of it is really just some bad luck.

Yeah, I’m not buying the “bad luck” thing. Far too many of his choices (and I mean trades AND picks) have been absolute zeroes. So, back to having a bunch of picks - other than the fact it might increase our chances of moving up in the draft - and therefore increase our chances of getting an actual player who sticks - I currently see zero to get excited about in terms of draft volume in KAM’s hands.

I do wonder how much influence we're starting to see with the coordinators giving more input/having more influence. And I mean KOC and Flores currently, even though I know KOC isn't the "OC", but we all know he is. It seems like the last two drafts had more of their fingerprints on it.

2022 sucked. There's no way to slice it. Whether it be luck, bad picks, bad development, injuries, whatever. It sucked. 2023 isn't great either, think half of the players are out of the NFL.

Still would rather have more picks than less, as long as we are eroding the roster to get those picks.

[CharVike]

If JJM, Turner and Jackson become above average starters that will help ease the misses of past drafts. Those misses have been covered up by FA signings. KAM deserves an A for those signings. I'll give him an F right now for his drafting but this year could change that dramatically based on the last 3 players selected in round 1. 2 will start and the other will need to contribute many snap counts especially with Ginks mystery injury. We will know what we have at the end of the season. I feel good about those 3 players.

[psjordan]

If JJM, Turner and Jackson become above average starters ... I feel good about those 3 players.

Oh I'm more optimistic than not about those three. JJM and Jackson mostly. I'm pretty confident Jackson will be a stud. JJM could end up in that category but I think there are a lot more variables at the QB position, so I am cautiously optimistic on JJM. I have serious doubts about Turner but I'm more than willing to wait and see.

It's just that IMO, KAM's drafting record and supposed deal-making is suspect, and I hope someone somewhere has done an adequate post mortem on each draft (picks and trades) and have some clues as to what went wrong. Nothing I can do about it but hope for the best!

[VikingLord]

Yeah, I’m not buying the “bad luck” thing. Far too many of his choices (and I mean trades AND picks) have been absolute zeroes. So, back to having a bunch of picks - other than the fact it might increase our chances of moving up in the draft - and therefore increase our chances of getting an actual player who sticks - I currently see zero to get excited about in terms of draft volume in KAM’s hands.

I wonder why that is. While KAM's draft-day moves have not always made sense, it's not like he's been making picks that were way off from what the general consensus would have been at the slots where he's drafted. While passing on a talent like Kyle Hamilton was not smart and the compensation he got for the trade down was not good, the players he picked at those spots made sense and could be justified based on what was known at the time. He wasn't taking wild swings generally, or at least it didn't seem that way at the time.

The fact his picks have been so consistently bad does indicate something, however. Maybe there is more out there that KAM should be aware of that he is not before he makes the picks that would alter the general consensus if it were more widely known. Maybe other GMs know this while KAM does not for some reason. Or maybe KAM overestimates his ability to assess talent which makes him discount exceptional talent that might drop into his lap while elevating talent that, on the balance, isn't all that great by comparison. In other words, the layman may easily recognize that Lewis Cine is not equal to Kyle Hamilton as a safety prospect, but someone who thinks he sees what nobody else sees might talk himself into believing that is not the case, or even that Cine is a better prospect than Hamilton.

I don't know if that is KAM's problem. He seems pretty capable of properly evaluating free agent talent. He just struggles with the same for rookie talent.

[CharVike]

If JJM, Turner and Jackson become above average starters ... I feel good about those 3 players.

Oh I'm more optimistic than not about those three. JJM and Jackson mostly. I'm pretty confident Jackson will be a stud. JJM could end up in that category but I think there are a lot more variables at the QB position, so I am cautiously optimistic on JJM. I have serious doubts about Turner but I'm more than willing to wait and see.

It's just that IMO, KAM's drafting record and supposed deal-making is suspect, and I hope someone somewhere has done an adequate post mortem on each draft (picks and trades) and have some clues as to what went wrong. Nothing I can do about it but hope for the best!

Wait and see with some optimism is the best approach right now especially with KAM's track record. I think it was you that pointed out Turner looked small on the field after seeing him play in person. Not every player steps in right from the start and plays at his top end. I expect JJM to have some down moments. The key will be bouncing back from them and how quickly that will take. I think his 1st preseason pass was picked off last year and he bounced back. He didn't fold and continue to make mistakes.

[StumpHunter]

If JJM, Turner and Jackson become above average starters that will help ease the misses of past drafts. Those misses have been covered up by FA signings. KAM deserves an A for those signings. I'll give him an F right now for his drafting but this year could change that dramatically based on the last 3 players selected in round 1. 2 will start and the other will need to contribute many snap counts especially with Ginks mystery injury. We will know what we have at the end of the season. I feel good about those 3 players.

If those three turn out, and the odds say at least one will not, you are looking at 4 starters drafted in 4 drafts, which would be the worst in the NFL these past 4 drafts, and is probably close to being the worst ever for a GM. That is if all 3 of those guys turn out, which means the best realistic case is still terrible.

Still, one of the things Kwesi has really struggled with since that 2022 draft is amassing picks to actually take shots on players, and it looks like he at least got a couple of extra quality picks in the upcoming draft. What is essentially one of the first picks of the 4th and 5th rounds for Darnold and Jones (assuming both don't get benched early in the season) can provide some much needed depth, or even a starter every once in a while, something the Vikings desperately need to avoid needing to keep 7 UDFA rookies on the roster each year.

[CharVike]

If JJM, Turner and Jackson become above average starters that will help ease the misses of past drafts. Those misses have been covered up by FA signings. KAM deserves an A for those signings. I'll give him an F right now for his drafting but this year could change that dramatically based on the last 3 players selected in round 1. 2 will start and the other will need to contribute many snap counts especially with Ginks mystery injury. We will know what we have at the end of the season. I feel good about those 3 players.

If those three turn out, and the odds say at least one will not, you are looking at 4 starters drafted in 4 drafts, which would be the worst in the NFL these past 4 drafts, and is probably close to being the worst ever for a GM. That is if all 3 of those guys turn out, which means the best realistic case is still terrible.

Still, one of the things Kwesi has really struggled with since that 2022 draft is amassing picks to actually take shots on players, and it looks like he at least got a couple of extra quality picks in the upcoming draft. What is essentially one of the first picks of the 4th and 5th rounds for Darnold and Jones (assuming both don't get benched early in the season) can provide some much needed depth, or even a starter every once in a while, something the Vikings desperately need to avoid needing to keep 7 UDFA rookies on the roster each year.

You're right the chance of those 3 panning out isn't very good especially when looking at KAM's prior drafts which I gave him an F grade and never would have given an extension just based on that.

[psjordan]

I don't know if that is KAM's problem. He seems pretty capable of properly evaluating free agent talent. He just struggles with the same for rookie talent.

Well it's a staff function - the draft - and I realize KAM cannot scout every single college player. At some point he relies on his staff.

Bluntly, he and his staff have sucked at identifying college talent.

I would assume they identify early-round possibles and that KAM personally helps cover those along with staff, and the later round possibles are likely covered by staff only.

So if it's not KAM's ability to scout and identify, then it's his inability to build a staff that's even close to average.

Either way he'd better get his act together, soon. One more draft producing no starters will get him fired.