3 Vikings trade deadline regrets that will come back to haunt Kwesi Adofo-Mensah

Despite being one of the shortest teams in the league when it comes to draft capital, the Minnesota Vikings were still active at the NFL Trade Deadline after the club's shockingly great start to the season behind Sam Darnold. General manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah made an early under-the-radar move to acquire more running back depth behind Aaron Jones in a trade with Houston for Cam Akers.

However, the organization's biggest splash came in the wake of the Christian Darrisaw injury. Adofo-Mensah leapt to action ad landed arguably the best available tackle on the trade market, Cam Robinson, in a trade with the Jaguars. And as the trade deadline came and went, that was the Vikings' part that they played.

All told, it was a productive period for Minnesota as they aim to remain a playoff and, hopefully, a Super Bowl contender this season. Having said that, as we look back at how things transpired, it does feel like the Vikings and Adofo-Mensah could have some regrets about their business at the trade deadline — these three regrets in particular.

3. Not trading Brian Asamoah II isn't great for the Vikings future

As we got closer to the trade deadline, one of the biggest rumors surrounding the Vikings was that the franchise's early run of buying with Akers and Robinson could be supplemented by potentially trading away linebacker Brian Asamoah II, a third-round pick from the 2022 draft for Minnesota.

Everything considered, it would've made a lot of sense for the Vikings to do exactly that. The Oklahoma product has simply not had a role to play in Brian Flores' defense, seeing just 14 defensive snaps this season, though he has played a solid special teams role in Minnesota. With his draft pedigree and physical tools, though, he could've gone for a Day 3 pick in either 2025 or 2026 to a team in need of linebacker depth.

For the Vikings particularly, though, not taking advantage of that is pretty tough to swallow and, frankly, a bit risky for Adofo-Mensah. With trades in the first round of the 2024 draft paired with other deals, Minnesota currently only has a first-round pick, two fifth-round picks, and possibly a seventh-rounder by way of the Steelers in the 2025 draft. Helping to recoup any draft capital would've been a huge plus for the Vikes, and dealing Asamoah to any interested party was the best chance to do so.

2. Not reuniting with Adam Thielen puts the offense in a precarious spot

Now, let's be clear, there is a real chance that the Carolina Panthers were never going to trade veteran wide receiver Adam Thielen. After all, this organization is likely to spend parts of the final few months of the regular season evaluating whether or not to move on from former No. 1 overall pick Bryce Young and, after already trading away Diontae Johnson and Jonathan Mingo, they have to give the quarterback some semblance of weapons to properly make that evaluation.

With that caveat, the Vikings undeniably would've benefitted from a reunion with Thielen, who spent nearly a decade in Minnesota previously, or any other available low-level or mid-level wide receiver. Justin Jefferson is by far the team's leading receiver and Jordan Addison, though he's been a bit up-and-down, is a good No. 2 option. And Jalen Nailor has shown flashes while T.J. Hockenson is coming back into the fold.

My bigger concern, however, is the depth at the position. If Jefferson, Addison or Nailor were to go down, would Kevin O'Connell really feel confident in Trent Sherfield or Brandon Powell? Possibly, but adding some reinforcements would definitely make that a more comfortable situation and someone like Thielen and his familiarity with the staff and organization would've been the ideal way to address that.

1. Not trade for a CB puts unnecessary pressure on the Vikings defense

Flores' work on the defensive side of the ball this season has been nothing short of magnificent. A big reason for the team's success has been the veteran coordinator's schematic styliings and how he's been able to maximize many of the pieces for Minnesota. That's perhaps no more evident than in the secondary.

Make no mistake, players like Byron Murphy Jr., Stephon Gilmore and Shaquill Griffin have played well. However, much like receiver, this is not a deep — at least in terms of reliability — position group for the Vikings. So looking around the league, it's hard not to think that there wasn't at least one swing that Adofo-Mensah could've taken at the position. No, I'm not saying that there was a need to break the bank to trade for Marshon Lattimore but there were other options.

Perhaps the most obvious move that the Vikings could've made and may regret not doing so would've been looking at Tre'Davious White, who the Rams traded to the Ravens along with a 2027 seventh-round pick for a 2026 seventh-round pick. The translation there is that the former Pro Bowler was available for next to nothing and, while he's not the player he once was, such a cheap depth piece would've made complete sense and helped ensure Minnesota's status as a contender no matter what they have to withstand from here on out.