Kwesi's Worst Trade -- And the Pivot That May Pay Off in 2024
Kwesi Adofo-Mensah Has Pulled Off a Whopping 23 Trades Since Taking Over; Failure in One Swap Has Helped to Push Him Toward a Pivot that Could Pay Off for the 2024 Vikings
In the end, the Andrew Booth Jr. decision didn’t work out particularly well.
Easy to forget, perhaps, but Booth arrived in Minnesota courtesy of an aggressive trade up the board in the 2nd Round of the 2022 NFL Draft.
The talented Clemson corner never got his NFL career off the ground in Minnesota. As a rookie, Booth was torched by Stefon Diggs in one of the most memorable games in recent memory (the Vikings overcame the Bills in a thrilling 33-30 win). He otherwise struggled with injuries and ineffectiveness in Year 1.
Across a half dozen games, Booth picked up a dozen tackles. He did so while playing 105 snaps for the Ed Donatell defense and 40 snaps for the Matt Daniels special teams.
His sophomore season showed a bit more promise, getting onto the field for 151 defensive snaps while picking up a single start for Brian Flores. Even better, Booth was around for all seventeen games; plus, he tossed in 121 special teams snaps. Something to build off going into Year 3?
If so, then it will need to take place down in Dallas under Mike Zimmer’s tutelage.
The most recent trade in Adofo-Mensah’s litany of moves involved Mr. Booth (read the full list of the GM’s trades in the PurplePTSD trade tracker). He got sent to Texas in exchange for the long Nahshon Wright, a corner drafted in the 3rd Round of the 2021 NFL Draft and who is now on Minnesota’s practice squad.
Was the Booth trade — the original one — the worst one of the GM’s career?
Kwesi’s Worst Trade
From the very beginning, the Lewis Cine deal was bad.
As so many suggested then and now, dropping twenty spots in the 1st Round without gaining an extra 1st is brutal. Even more discouraging is that the Vikings tossed in the No. 46 pick to help pry away No. 32, No. 34, and No. 66 from the Lions.
The rotten cherry on top is that just sticking and picking Kyle Hamilton would have resulted in acquiring an All-Pro safety (again, all discussed before).
Even still, one wonders if the Booth trade is worse. After all, that Cine trade allowed for a strong trade back — turning No. 34 into No. 53 and No. 59 — while also offering the pick that turned into linebacker Brian Asamoah, someone who is still around and still offering potential.
Consider, for the sake of argument, what Indianapolis got in return in the Booth deal. The Colts should be pleased with how things turned out.
At first, Indianapolis owned the No. 42 pick and Minnesota was sitting on No. 53. The end result of the swap is as follows:
Minnesota Receives
— Andrew Booth Jr., Corner, No. 42
— No. 122, traded away.
Indianapolis Receives
— Alec Pierce, Receiver, No. 53
— Bernhard Raimann, Offensive Tackle, No. 77
— Andrew Ogletree, Tight End, No. 192
The crown jewel within that cluster of talent is Mr. Raimann, someone who looks like a building block for Indy’s young offense. But, to be sure, there have been other contributions.
The 6’3”, 211-pound Pierce had an excellent Week 1, turning his 3 receptions into 125 yards and a score (a stat line that makes one think of Mr. Moss). Meanwhile, Raimann is starting along the offensive line. He finished as PFF’s 7th best tackle in 2023 and is again playing well for the Colts.
Minnesota was supposed to be getting a CB1 for their troubles, a tremendously valuable part of a defense. Instead, they got someone who barely played and who was eventually traded out for a practice squad player. Not great.
The Pivot at Corner
In the beginning, there was youth and speed. That’s what Lewis Cine and Andrew Booth Jr. were supposed to provide. The bonus was Akayleb Evans, someone who (mercifully) is still in town as he works toward fulfilling his potential.
Just a couple of seasons on from that initial strategy, though, and things are looking quite different. After all, Cine has been cut and Booth traded. The building blocks — supposedly, at least — didn’t even make it to Year 3 with the Vikings. The secondary has thus had to pivot.
Consider the Week 1 effort. Byron Murphy Jr. (56 snaps in Week 1) was all over the field, leading the team in tackles with 9, showing off some really good click & close decisiveness and physicality. Murphy is, in short, a good player, someone who is only 26 despite entering his sixth season in the NFL. He was targeted 8 times, allowing 6 receptions for 64 yards. Neither dominant nor disastrous.
Along the outside were Stephon Gilmore (62 snaps in Week 1) and Shaq Griffin (44 snaps in Week 1), physical veterans who have good size. Gilmore allowed 3 receptions on 3 targets for 29 scoreless yards; Flores will take that every week if he can get it. Meanwhile, Griffin allowed 2 receptions on 3 targets for just 14 yards. Again, Flores would be thrilled with that kind of effort.
What connects all three of these players? They’re all free agent adds who are scheduled to be free agents once again in the ‘25 offseason.
Kwesi has pivoted. The plan was to hand things off to young players and rebuild the corner room through the draft. The issue is that Booth flopped and Evans has taken a step back. Mekhi Blackmon tore his ACL at the beginning of training camp and Khyree Jackson very tragically passed away in a car accident.
The GM is now moving forward with a top trio of corners who are all about physicality and experience, not youth and speed (though, in fairness, Murphy is still quite young and doesn’t lack for quickness). Plus, one of the other corners on the active roster — Fabian Moreau — fits into the same pattern: a veteran working on a single-season deal.
The wild thing? It could work.
Bringing it all together is going to be a defensive front that continues to be tremendously disruptive. Yes, the 5 sacks were excellent to see, but it was the broader state of pressure that was so encouraging. Jonathan Greenard was disruptive and Jihad Ward had his moments. That’s on top of Dallas Turner, Patrick Jones II, Andrew Van Ginkel, and Harrison Phillips getting home for sacks.
The Challenge Ahead
The 49ers present a unique challenge regardless of whether Christian McCaffrey is in the lineup. To be sure, needing to guard the NFL’s RB1 adds another layer of difficulty, but even without McCaffrey the 49ers are loaded.
Brandon Aiyuk and Deebo Samuel are still at receiver; George Kittle is still one of the NFL’s best tight ends. Bringing it all together is maybe the best offensive mind in Kyle Shanahan and a QB — Brock Purdy — who can really play.
Does the Vikings’ cluster of veteran corners have what it takes to hang with this crew?
Playing against Daniel Jones has a way of making a defense look good. The NYG’s QB1 finished his outing having gone 22/42 for 186 yards, 0 TDs, and 2 INTs. No chance Purdy is as incompetent.
Now, in fairness, Purdy’s stats were quite pedestrian in Week 1, completing 19/29 passes for 231 yards without a touchdown or an interception. The issue, of course, is that San Francisco still dropped 32 points on the Jets due to Jake Moody’s 6/6 day of field goal kicking and the rushing scores from Jordan Mason alongside Samuel.
The point, folks, is that Minnesota’s defense will need to be crisp from top to bottom. Continuing with the stifling run defense — a strength under Flores — will be Step 1, but then the onus shifts over to those corners we’ve been discussing (which is to say nothing of the safety cluster).
Getting timely plays — not perfect play — from Murphy, Gilmore, and Griffin would make the upset possible.
Editor’s Note: Information from Pro Football Reference, Over the Cap, and PFF helped with this piece.
Odds & Ends
49ers at Vikings Score Prediction
Hard to roll with the Vikings. In the NFC, there likely isn’t a better team than the San Francisco 49ers.
Minnesota is a reasonably well-built football team with more talent than people realize. The issue is that they’re taking on Shanahan and SF. Gotta roll with the road team in this one, folks.
Final Score: 49ers 27 — Vikings 20
Dad Joke of the Week
Lots of great contenders this week, but I’ll again roll with an option that loops the Vikings into the mix. Shout out to TheSkolHop.
The joke: “What stories do Vikings tell their children? Norsery rhymes.”
Vikings Tidbits and Thoughts:
Trent Williams is going to be a handful. Christian Darrisaw is working toward becoming Williams, the NFL’s preeminent left tackle who is a force on a weekly basis. There’s a long way to go, though, before that happens. Whoever lines up across from Mr. Williams is going to have a tough assignment.
Keep an eye on Kyle Juszczyk. He’s the NFL’s best fullback — and that’s no disrespect to C.J. Ham — and he’s used in creative ways by his head coach. Blake Cashman and Ivan Pace Jr. will need to be sharp.
Can Aaron Jones do it again? During the postseason, Jones put together a dominant effort against these 49ers, rushing the ball 18 times for 108 yards. Green Bay fell by a score of 24-21 but it was close largely because the RB1 was fantastic. Minnesota will need that kind of effort.
Is Sam Darnold looking for revenge? In some senses, it would be weird for him to be bitter. The consensus seems to be that being the QB2 helped his career tremendously, so it’s likely just a feeling of normal competitiveness rather than feeling like he needs to get back at his old team.
If Minnesota somehow wins, the optimism is going to be off the charts.
Links for the Dinks:
Kwesi Nailed It…But There’s a Step 2: Seeing Harrison Phillips stick around for a bit longer is a positive development. The DT1 is excellent on and off the field; even better, he has a “C” slapped onto his chest. The GM needs to move forward with another extension, though.
Within the Strong Week 1, The Vikings Sprung a Leak: The interior of the offensive line had a tough task: corralling Dexter Lawrence. The right side struggled.
The Vikings’ Cap Has Been Experiencing Some Whiplash: The GM has been shifting money around. First, there was T.J. Hockenson. Second, there was Harrison Phillips. Third? Well, that’s the question.
Thanks for reading and take care of yourself.