KAM Extended

[makila]

Team and KAM reached an extension. Expected this to happen, little surprised it wasn't before the draft. Doesn't make sense to have lame duck front office leadership. Their priority and the teams priority often do not align in that situation.

"Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and the Vikings have agreed to a multiyear contract extension, NFL Network Insiders Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero reported on Friday, per sources. The club has since announced the news.

"Kwesi's leadership, vision and collaboration with our coaching staff has positioned the Minnesota Vikings for sustained success," Vikings owner/president Mark Wilf said in a statement. "His dedication and forward-thinking approach have been instrumental in shaping our roster and future, and we are confident that under the guidance of him and Kevin O'Connell, we will continue to compete at the highest level as we pursue a championship for Vikings fans."

In the wake of Adofo-Mensah's extension, the Vikings are promoting Ryan Grigson and Demitrius Washington to assistant general manager roles, per Pelissero. The pairing have been Adofo-Mensah's top lieutenants since he arrived in Minnesota."

https://www.nfl.com/news/vikings-gm-kwe ... -extension

[VikingsFan12345]

I am not surprised, Kwesi did a great job signing free agents but he needs to do a better job drafting

[CharVike]

This was the easiest move for the Wilf family to make. We have 2 of the top PR guys (KAM & KOC) in the business running the show. From a competitive stand point they made the playoffs for a beat down 2 out of 3 years so that's worth something from the entertainment side. My position hasn't changed since this crew was hired. You have 4 seasons to bring home the trophy and if that goal isn't reached pack your $hit up and get out of town. Too late for that it's another decade of wishing and hoping to win a playoff game. KAM has proven he can't draft and to cover that scar he goes out and signs FA. This has been a case of hits and misses. Every fan has their own view on that.

[StumpHunter]

If KAM were only in charge of free agency and there was another guy who handled the draft, I would be fine with the extension. Or at the very least, if they had fired Grigson instead of giving him a promotion so that KAM at least had someone competent helping him with the draft.

I don't think people realize just how little we have gotten from our drafts since Kwesi took over compared to the rest of the league. The only teams that come close are Denver, Miami and Cleveland, and those teams gave up multiple 1st round picks plus some later picks, either in trades or as punishment by the league.

When your #3 WR is your best Day 2 or 3 pick from the past 3, probably 4 drafts, you really have to ask why the guy in charge of helping the GM decide who to draft still has his job.

[VikingLord]

I'm really hopeful that some of KAM's more recent drafts start to pay off this year with McCarthy getting his shot as the starting QB and Dallas Turner having a solid year of development behind him. If just those two guys at the top of last year's draft pay off this year, that will go a long way toward changing the draft narrative on KAM. Couple that with players like Jackson and Felton taken in this most recent draft who have a real chance of playing significant snaps and we might even be talking about how well KAM has drafted recently by the end of this year.

It hasn't been great to this point but for some reason I'm hopeful that is about to completely flip over.

[StumpHunter]

I'm really hopeful that some of KAM's more recent drafts start to pay off this year with McCarthy getting his shot as the starting QB and Dallas Turner having a solid year of development behind him. If just those two guys at the top of last year's draft pay off this year, that will go a long way toward changing the draft narrative on KAM. Couple that with players like Jackson and Felton taken in this most recent draft who have a real chance of playing significant snaps and we might even be talking about how well KAM has drafted recently by the end of this year.

It hasn't been great to this point but for some reason I'm hopeful that is about to completely flip over.

If JJM, Turner and Jackson all play well for the Vikings this year, that will be 4 picks in 4 years who are starting caliber players.

That is similar levels of drafting that got Grigson fired in Indy, and should have gotten him fired here.

[Maelstrom88]

KAM is fascinating to me. I've never seen a gm as bad as he is in the draft but so good with crunching numbers that he has the cap flexibility to work out of it. I loved the Turner pick though and am hopeful he will take a huge jump this year. It all comes down to whether or not they hit in JJ.

[VikingLord]

When your #3 WR is your best Day 2 or 3 pick from the past 3, probably 4 drafts, you really have to ask why the guy in charge of helping the GM decide who to draft still has his job.

I was really trying to find a silver lining in KAM's draft performance....

The draft has not been kind for KAM for sure. I really am worried about the long term competitiveness of the team if the only way they can win is by inking high priced vet free agents to contracts with a lot of deferred money. It would be a real shame if JJ turns out to be the real deal at QB while the team around him falls apart because the deferred money eats up too much of the cap to replace those vet free agents and the young talent that should be coming from the draft isn't good enough.

[CharVike]

KAM is fascinating to me. I've never seen a gm as bad as he is in the draft but so good with crunching numbers that he has the cap flexibility to work out of it. I loved the Turner pick though and am hopeful he will take a huge jump this year. It all comes down to whether or not they hit in JJ.

I have high hopes for Turner also. He showed some positives signs as a rookie both rushing the passer and dropping into coverage. Pat Jones left so his 459 snaps will be replaced by someone.
"Dallas is coming into his own in terms of how he is going to contribute," Flores said, "and it could be in a variety of ways: as a rusher, as a dropper, on the ball, off the ball, in different packages. We're excited his versatility, but also his growth."

[Maelstrom88]

KAM is fascinating to me. I've never seen a gm as bad as he is in the draft but so good with crunching numbers that he has the cap flexibility to work out of it. I loved the Turner pick though and am hopeful he will take a huge jump this year. It all comes down to whether or not they hit in JJ.

I have high hopes for Turner also. He showed some positives signs as a rookie both rushing the passer and dropping into coverage. Pat Jones left so his 459 snaps will be replaced by someone.
"Dallas is coming into his own in terms of how he is going to contribute," Flores said, "and it could be in a variety of ways: as a rusher, as a dropper, on the ball, off the ball, in different packages. We're excited his versatility, but also his growth."

From a physical standpoint he has everything you would want in an edge rusher. It all comes down to the desire to be great and whether he's coachable now. Year one to year two should be a massive jump.

[Cliff]

I have high hopes for Turner also. He showed some positives signs as a rookie both rushing the passer and dropping into coverage. Pat Jones left so his 459 snaps will be replaced by someone.
"Dallas is coming into his own in terms of how he is going to contribute," Flores said, "and it could be in a variety of ways: as a rusher, as a dropper, on the ball, off the ball, in different packages. We're excited his versatility, but also his growth."

From a physical standpoint he has everything you would want in an edge rusher. It all comes down to the desire to be great and whether he's coachable now. Year one to year two should be a massive jump.

It's also a question of whether or not he's compatible with the coach's plan for him. Edge rushing was his specialty coming out of college and the Vikings already have two pro bowlers at the edges. So why add Turner at all? To me it's obvious that they're going to want Turner to play all over the field. With his speed they'll want him back in coverage and blitzing from multiple places. Can he add all of that to his game? He may not be able to do it.

I just wonder how long they'll keep trying to force a square peg into a round hole if he can't catch onto that role. It would be a shame to waste his talent because he's not able to be something he wasn't known for in the first place.

[CharVike]

From a physical standpoint he has everything you would want in an edge rusher. It all comes down to the desire to be great and whether he's coachable now. Year one to year two should be a massive jump.

It's also a question of whether or not he's compatible with the coach's plan for him. Edge rushing was his specialty coming out of college and the Vikings already have two pro bowlers at the edges. So why add Turner at all? To me it's obvious that they're going to want Turner to play all over the field. With his speed they'll want him back in coverage and blitzing from multiple places. Can he add all of that to his game? He may not be able to do it.

I just wonder how long they'll keep trying to force a square peg into a round hole if he can't catch onto that role. It would be a shame to waste his talent because he's not able to be something he wasn't known for in the first place.

Adding another edge rusher was questioned at the time because we had 2 good ones on board. I understand taking the best available but when you are weak at positions they need to be filled first before drafting for depth/development especially in round 1. This year they focused on need in round 1. KAM goes back and forth not exactly an indication of having a well thought out plan. But they will compete for a wild card again and even the title if the mighty Lions fall backwards after losing both coordinators along with a playoff beat down in round 1.

[Cliff]

It's also a question of whether or not he's compatible with the coach's plan for him. Edge rushing was his specialty coming out of college and the Vikings already have two pro bowlers at the edges. So why add Turner at all? To me it's obvious that they're going to want Turner to play all over the field. With his speed they'll want him back in coverage and blitzing from multiple places. Can he add all of that to his game? He may not be able to do it.

I just wonder how long they'll keep trying to force a square peg into a round hole if he can't catch onto that role. It would be a shame to waste his talent because he's not able to be something he wasn't known for in the first place.

Adding another edge rusher was questioned at the time because we had 2 good ones on board. I understand taking the best available but when you are weak at positions they need to be filled first before drafting for depth/development especially in round 1. This year they focused on need in round 1. KAM goes back and forth not exactly an indication of having a well thought out plan. But they will compete for a wild card again and even the title if the mighty Lions fall backwards after losing both coordinators along with a playoff beat down in round 1.

Flores has said he views Gink, Greenard, and Turner all as starters. Which means he means to have them all on the field together a lot. Maybe that means the rushers will also be rotating in and out of Ivan Pace's spot a lot? Maybe it means Gink and Greenard will get a little more rest?

I assume that he wants to keep teams guessing with Turner. If he can learn to cover as well as he rushes the passer it would really create some problems for opposing teams and allow him to stay on the field a lot more.

It's going to be really interesting to see how the defense looks this season. I hope you're right and they're at least good enough for a Wild Card spot. Things get a pretty worrisome at QB if JJM goes down again. Him not playing well is also a worry, but I think injury is probably the greater worry. Vikings luck would be him playing really well for 5 or 6 weeks and then getting injured for the rest of the season.

[CharVike]

Adding another edge rusher was questioned at the time because we had 2 good ones on board. I understand taking the best available but when you are weak at positions they need to be filled first before drafting for depth/development especially in round 1. This year they focused on need in round 1. KAM goes back and forth not exactly an indication of having a well thought out plan. But they will compete for a wild card again and even the title if the mighty Lions fall backwards after losing both coordinators along with a playoff beat down in round 1.

Flores has said he views Gink, Greenard, and Turner all as starters. Which means he means to have them all on the field together a lot. Maybe that means the rushers will also be rotating in and out of Ivan Pace's spot a lot? Maybe it means Gink and Greenard will get a little more rest?

I assume that he wants to keep teams guessing with Turner. If he can learn to cover as well as he rushes the passer it would really create some problems for opposing teams and allow him to stay on the field a lot more.

It's going to be really interesting to see how the defense looks this season. I hope you're right and they're at least good enough for a Wild Card spot. Things get a pretty worrisome at QB if JJM goes down again. Him not playing well is also a worry, but I think injury is probably the greater worry. Vikings luck would be him playing really well for 5 or 6 weeks and then getting injured for the rest of the season.

I think JJM will perform well. He had a redshirt season and they made the moves to upgrade the IOL which had to be done. How long will it take for them to jell? Flores D seems to get stats against teams with weaker fronts. The Lions can run all over us. That needs to stop and force Goff to beat us. We lack a NT that can tie up 2 blockers. If we stay healthy we will challenge.