Although Cine and Booth’s brief stays in Minnesota were marred by injuries, the main reason for their quick departures was the fact that they failed to excel in a secondary where jobs were available. Josh Metellus, a sixth-round holdover from the 2020 draft, and Theo Jackson, a 2022 practice squad addition, overtook Cine in the rankings. A year after selecting Booth, the Vikings went to the third round to sign another cornerback (Mekhi Blackmon) before drafting Khyree Jackson in the fourth round this year and signing five cornerbacks in training camp. But Adofo-Mensah also showed a willingness to part ways with Cine and Booth at a time when some of his counterparts would have held on to their previous draft picks for revenge.
According to Pro Football Reference’s “Approximate Value” metric, which compares the performance of different players across different positions and eras, Cine is tied with Hayden as the least productive first-round pick to play a game for the Vikings. Laquon Treadwell, the receiver the Vikings drafted 23rd overall in 2016, is eighth on the list. But although Treadwell never averaged more than 302 receiving yards in a season in Minnesota and caught just two touchdown passes, he played 53 games over his entire rookie contract. Kenechi Udeze, the 2004 first-round pick who had just 11 sacks with the Vikings, played four full seasons; Troy Williamson, the receiver the Vikings drafted seventh overall to replace Randy Moss, played three full seasons.
When it came to the Lions deal and the Cine selection, Adofo-Mensah pointed to his background as a commodities trader on Wall Street, where he had developed a certain level of insecurity knowing his decisions would be criticized within seconds. “They keep track very quickly,” he said. “I’m humbled because you spend half the week being wrong.”
History is unlikely to look favorably on Adofo-Mensah’s first draft for the Vikings. His first two picks are no longer on the roster, while his next three are fighting for their jobs. The Vikings are expected to have just four picks in next spring’s draft, and Adofo-Mensah’s first two drafts followed two Rick Spielman drafts with two stars and little depth.
If the deal he made to draft Cine was against convention, so was the speed with which he moved on from a mistake (and perhaps the entente he made with Lions GM Brad Holmes enabled the TJ Hockenson trade seven months after the Cine deal). Adofo-Mensah has shown that he won’t hold on to underperforming assets out of sentimentality; he’ll hope the remaining picks from his first three draft classes produce some winners.
