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2022 NFL draft: Day 2 grades for Vikings

Jordy McElroy
·3 min read

Minnesota Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah hasn’t disappointed as far as his ability to work the draft board and stockpile picks.

If only he managed to do so without trading with division rivals in the process.

The Vikings have guaranteed they’ll be seeing Jameson Williams with the Detroit Lions and Christian Watson with the Green Bay Packers due to trades they made with those respective teams.

For the most part, they came away with the players they wanted on day two, but like the Williams trade on Thursday, their decision to do business with a rival could come back to haunt them in the form of Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers heaving up throws to Watson.

But then again, there’s also the possibility that the moves made by the Vikings end up offsetting anything their rivals have done in the 2022 NFL draft.

Here are the day two grades.

Vikings finally address corner by drafting Andrew Booth Jr.

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It took the Vikings long enough.

After trading down in back-to-back rounds, they finally got aggressive enough to go up and get their man on this selection. The team traded away the No. 53, 57 and 192 picks of the draft to move up and select Clemson cornerback Andrew Booth Jr. with the No. 42 pick.

Both of the second-round picks stemmed from a trade with the Green Bay Packers earlier in the night.

It may very well have been worth it considering Booth is a first-round talent that caught a few bad breaks as far as injuries are concerned. If he was able to attend the NFL Scouting Combine or at least the Clemson Pro Day, there’s a good chance he wouldn’t have been lying in wait as long as he was on the board.

This move fills an area of need, along with helping to map out the future for Minnesota’s dwindling secondary.

Grade: B+

Vikings grab their first offensive player, offensive guard Ed Ingram

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Ed Ingram had a troubling background entering this draft due to previous sexual assault allegations, but Adofo-Mensah claims the incident was vetted at the fullest before the decision was made to take him at No. 59 on the draft board.

It’s interesting the Vikings would opt to go after Ingram here when they had a shot at taking a flyer on quarterback Malik Willis. The hope must really be figuring something out long-term with Kirk Cousins.

If Cousins is going to continue to be the quarterback, then the Vikings are going to need human boulders up front like Ingram to protect him. The team gets another consistent young blocker to join a growing pool of players all competing for a guard position in Minnesota.

Grade: B-

Brian Asamoah added to Vikings' growing linebacker room

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Brian Asamoah might end up being a solid player for the Vikings, but at the moment, the pick feels like a bit of a reach. Once again, the team could have opted to go with Willis at quarterback here.

They could have also fleeced the rest of the league by taking Georgia linebacker Nakobe Dean with the No. 66 overall pick.

When healthy, I believe Dean is the better player over the undersized Asamoah. That isn’t to say Asamoah can’t help the Vikings right out of the gates. He has every-down potential on defense, along with the ability to contribute on special teams.

But Minnesota didn’t need to reach for him this high.

Grade: C-

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