Anonymous NFL executive's criticism of Vikings' draft misses the point entirely

It hasn't even been a fortnight since Mr. Irrelevant was selected, and we have got anonymous NFL executives poking holes in otherwise great drafts. It is hard to argue that the Minnesota Vikings had anything other than a terrific NFL Draft. I may not be the biggest Kwesi Adofo-Mensah fan, but even I can see what he did by moving up and down the draft board to perfection only two weekends ago.

Despite having to trade up for both quarterback J.J. McCarthy at No. 10 and edge rusher Dallas Turner at No. 17, not even front office executives get the big picture. While I may not say that the Vikings are a playoff team this year, I wouldn't cross them off just yet either. Still, one anonymous NFL executive told Mike Sando of The Athletic ($) that he pretty much hated the Vikings draft to its very core.

Here is what the anonymous front-office executive told Sando. Try to not laugh while reading this...

“I can buy trading some future picks if you are going to be contending and you are going to get a potential starter. But the Vikings are not even close to contending. What they did, or even what the Bears did in giving up a (2025) fourth (for a fifth this year), I would not be doing that if I were those teams.”

To me, there are only a handful of teams in the NFC who are playoff locks. Detroit and San Francisco, and that may be it. Even if you like teams such as Dallas, Green Bay or Philadelphia, it could go to hell in a hand basket for any of them. Outside of Carolina, New York and maybe Washington, everybody else in the NFC is vying for one of seven playoff berths. The conference is about to be totally wild!

So to trade up a few spots to get McCarthy and Turner, why would you not do it if you are Minnesota?

Anonymous NFL executive doesn't see the big picture with the Vikings

I see exactly what the Vikings are trying to do here. Ever since he was hired, Adofo-Mensah wanted to blow this thing up that was built by Rick Spielman and coached up by Mike Zimmer. That era of Vikings football was great in its own right, but never could quite get over the hump. Clearly, Adofo-Mensah respects Kevin O'Connell so much as a head coach; he just wants to get him new ingredients.

This is why Adofo-Mensah drafted McCarthy and Turner so high. He knew that the team had to replace Kirk Cousins and Danielle Hunter this offseason. While he has done a great job of identifying talent at other positions, it will be hard for the Vikings to hold their own in the deep NFC North if they don't have a good quarterback or a reliable pass-rusher. They may have that in McCarthy and Turner.

Overall, the Vikings did not have to move up a ton to acquire both players. They only had to go up one spot for McCarthy from No. 11 to No. 10 in a deal with the New York Jets. While they had to go up seven spots from No. 23 to No. 17 in a deal with the Jacksonville Jaguars to get Turner, nobody is going to blame the Vikings for doing so if he ends up being a smash hit for the Vikings' pass rush.

The Vikings may not be a playoff team now, but I wouldn't rule them out for being one in 2025 just yet.