Thoughts on Kwesi through ~3 seasons?

[viking]

I think KAM really has cooked this offseason. The Vikings have been kicking the can down the road pushing bloated veteran contracts into the future. The 2024 season is the year we'll bite the bullet and have the "rebuild" section of the "competitive rebuild" Kwesi has spoken about.

 

The franchise can be looking at a scenario where to start the offseason next year we have:

-QBOTF on a rookie deal who's been able to learn under O'Connell and McCown for a year-

- Our 2025 1st round pick intact

- three 3rd round picks (projecting we pick up 3rd round comps for Hunter and Cousins)

- $150m in cap space to build around the rookie

 

I believe in KAM, KOC and Coach Flo to build a real competitor!

Edited March 15 by viking

[vike daddy]

2 minutes ago, viking said:

 Vikings have been kicking the can down the road pushing boated veteran contracts into the future. 

No pun intended.

[GermanVike]

I really like KAMs approach to this draft more and more. While I'm more on the risk averse side, I think it is time for the Vikings to get aggressive. We've been content with mediocrity for too long.

 

I'm in for the rollercoaster ride.

[viking]

1 minute ago, GermanVike said:

I really like KAMs approach to this draft more and more. While I'm more on the risk averse side, I think it is time for the Vikings to get aggressive. We've been content with mediocrity for too long.

 

I'm in for the rollercoaster ride.

I'm with you on being mostly risk adverse however I don't think we've ever been in a better position coaching and supporting cast wise to take a swing at a legit franchise QB.

 

[gopherwrestler]

Yup I’m really ready to take this gamble! Either we are burning it down, or the sky is the limit! Or we land in the middle again and draft a Hall of Very Average QB to replace our old one and we are stuck in the same spot again…. With a cheaper QB!

[vikesfan89]

Yeah generally I think trading back and building draft capital is the better thing to do but this is the time to strike and get the QB

[Magnus-Viktor]

Just curious what the overall thoughts are on Kwefi so far?  I thought coming into it, his hands were extremely tied behind his back by the ridiculous Cousins' contract and the state of the roster as a result of said contract.  This is the first offseason without that constraint.  Below are my thoughts on the last 3 seasons where Kwefi has been in control.  

 

The following drafts are all stand-alone.  Meaning they don't build upon each other, with what I did hypothetically in the previous year.

'22

Hired O'Connell as the head coach and switched to a 34 defense.  Huge changes.  Idk who made the decision on hiring O'Connell, be it the owners or Kwefi.  Does anyone know for sure?  If he chose O'Connell, that's a huge bonus in his favor!  

Made the mistake of re-signing Cousins, but it lowered his cap hit, so maybe this was prolonging the suffering, while making '22's cap situation a bit more tenable?  

Signing Harrison Phillips was a solid pickup, albeit unspectacular.  I wouldn't have done it, but it's solid.  Johnny Mundt was a good get also.

The actual draft:  awful.  100% awful.  Not only was it a really poor draft class overall anyway, but the trade back and the subsequent picks were terrible.  If they'd just stayed at their picks and taken BPA, this is what it could've been:

1.  Trent McDuffie, CB, Washington - My favorite CB I've seen in college in quite a while.  Kyle Hamilton and Tyler Linderbaum were my other considerations, but I didn't like Hamilton's 4.59, and Linderbaum meant Bradbury had to go.  As a Hawkeye fan, I loved Linderbaum though!  

2.  Troy Andersen, ILB, Montana (I might've taken Travis Jones instead, not sure - was really impressed with the athletic profile of both - Phillips being signed at NT is the deciding factor here)

3.  Zamir White, RB, Georgia - he always looked smooth at Georgia and needed a complete back to pair with Cook

4.  Tariq Woolen, DB, UTSA - Tall and extremely fast DB.  Just what I like.  

5.  Zyon McCollum, DB, Sam Houston State - Basically the same thing as Tariq, though he's heavier and not as fast.

6.  Isiah Pacheco, RB, Rutgers - Very fast and explosive RB.  Again, preparing for life after Dalvin and a back with some power that wouldn't get bit by the turf monster so much.  

7.  Reed Blankenship, S, Middle Tennessee - I read lots of draft reports that sounded good about him, and he checked the boxes for the most part, better than anyone else this late.

(yes, that's a lot of DBs, but those were the guys I liked in the draft - this draft would be solid, and much better than the joke they had instead)  5th rounder Ty Chandler is the only one from that whole draft class that I like or liked at all, and I think he should play more.  Booth is ok when he's not hurt, but he was available because of the injury red flags, so being hurt is part of what you knew you were getting with him from day 1.  Cine is invisible & I didn't want him before the draft either.  Ingram might be the worst OL in the NFL that actually plays.  Etc.  

The only thing he did during the entire '22 season that I liked, was trade for Hockenson.  

'23

Spending all that money for Josh Oliver was ridiculous.  You're in cap hell and cutting starters because of Cousins' stupid contract, and you spend this kind of money on a backup/#2/blocking TE?  Davenport I kinda liked, on a short term deal.  It was a flop though.  Byron Murphy was the one good move here.  Great move.

The '23 Draft for the Vikings wasn't quite as bad as the '22 Draft, but it's close.  I wouldn't have taken a single one of those players, but at least the first rounder is a good player.  I went into this draft wanting a handful of former Hawkeyes, but 2 of them went before the Vikes' first pick (to the Lions and Packers), so weren't even options.  

1.  Will Levis, QB, Kentucky - I would've taken him. Good or bad, I would've jumped on a QB available at 23 with that basic skillset and athleticism combo.  Levis & McCarthy are pretty comparable in their projections.

2.  traded for Hockenson

3.  Kelee Ringo, CB, Georgia - 6'2" 207 with 4.36 speed?  I'll take it.  

4.  Charlie Jones, WR, Iowa - I'm a Hawkeye fan, and Jones was great while there.  Return man and WR both.  He just had no QB.  He transfers to Purdue and lights it up.  I can justify spending a 4 on a WR given the state of the roster.  I couldn't justify a 1 on a WR, when you have no answer at QB.  

5.  Daniel Scott, S, Cal - another safety that checks all the boxes and arguably BPA at this point.

6.  Andrei Iosivas, WR, Princeton - A tall, fast, explosive WR.  

7.  Ronnie Bell, WR, Michigan - He doesn't check all the boxes, but he checks more than enough to be worth a pick at this point given what I saw when I watched his games.  

The only thing he did during the entire '23 season that I liked, was sign Byron Murphy.  

'24

Let Cousins walk, finally.  Finally out of cap hell.  Finally got rid of Danielle Hunter and all of his contract drama (I used to be a big fan of Hunter, until he missed a whole season with injury, had surgery, and then basically held out for a new contract before the start of the next season - I've wanted him gone ever since).  

Signed Aaron Jones, a will-be 30 year old RB who missed 35% of last season: underwhelmed.  Signed Cashman, a fast local boy LB who wasn't a starter until last season and did pretty good.....tbd, but a bit optimistic here.   Signed Van Ginkel, a will-be 29 year old LB....this one I really like, as he has the size and speed you want, and versatility.  Signed Greenard: 19 mill a year for a guy who averages under 6 sacks a season?  If you're getting last season's production out of him, great.  If you're getting his career average, terrible.  All in all, a pretty solid group of free agents brought in, finally, because Cousins is finally gone!  

The '24 Draft, for the Vikings, was a bit of a mess to me.  Before the draft, they traded for a 2nd 1st round pick, presumably to package that to move up for a real franchise QB.  Then, they didn't do it.  Yet another stupid move in my book.  You either go all in, or you don't.  You don't make half of a move, and then stop.  They should've went so far as to give up next year's #1 if that's what it took to get to #3 for Drake Maye.  They wouldn't have made the move for a 2nd #1, if McCarthy was their target all along, IMO.  Now, maybe New England wouldn't trade back no matter what, but you'd think they would for the right offer.  

Draft (without a hypothetical trade up that they should've done for Drake Maye, since I didn't do any in the other drafts, and also without the trade up to #10):

1-11.  JJ McCarthy, QB, Michigan - I don't think McCarthy was going to go at #10 to the Jets, and if he did, then you just take Nix.  6 of one, half a dozen of the other.  They're both mid-1st or 2nd round talents at best.....but you have to take a QB here since there's no one left.  You're in the type of hell that results in Christian Ponder getting drafted at #12 at that point.  No FA due to the holdout, and they waste the 12th pick on a pure scrub because they had no choice.  Can't go into a season without a QB.  Graham Barton or Brock Bowers would've been my pick if I already had Will Levis from the previous year.

1-23.  Cooper DeJean, DB, Iowa - My favorite player in the draft, by far.  His dad is from my mom's hometown, which is a rival school of mine.  I watched his dad play sports and especially run track (he was 5+ years older than me I guess) and he could flat out fly (somewhere around a 10.5 in the 100 meters, since he was neck and neck with a guy that I know for a fact ran a 10.5), for a 6'5" dude that didn't look very athletic at all.  As a Hawkeye fan, I was a fan of Cooper before I even realized who his dad was.  He can be a starting outside corner, nickel, or a stud S.  Depends on where the coaches think he'd fit the best.  It's easy to pigeon-hole the white boy as a S instead of a CB, and I'm sure he'd be better there as I think he's a perfect S physique and skillset, but I think he could be a pro bowl CB too.  Pro bowl caliber return man also.  Everyone remembers the scandal from the refs robbing him of a game winning TD against the Gophers.  

2.  Cole Bishop, S, Utah - Dirty Harry is getting up there.  This guy checks all the boxes.  

4.  Mason McCormick, G, SDSU - I really wanted to go with Graham Barton in 1, but I couldn't justify passing up on DeJean.  McCormick is an athletic OL that I think is an upgrade from Ingram on his first day of camp. 

4.  Isaac Guerendo, RB, Louisville - A big, fast RB.  

5.  Logan Lee, DE, Iowa - A typical Iowa DL.  Good frame, solid athlete, coached up, effective, but not splashy.  Prototypical 5-tech.  

6.  Will Reichard, K, Alabama - gotta have a K.

7.  Gabriel Murphy, OLB, UCLA - undersized edge for depth.

 

In '24, he got rid of a QB making 3 times more money than he was worth and got rid of Hunter's antics too.  Finally signed some quality FAs.  The draft was a joke though, giving up so much and hurting the depth by giving up so many picks.  On the other hand, we finally got a QB that could turn into something, and they managed to get a guy who could be an elite edge rusher.  So is this season, where the handcuffs are off financially, and they hopefully drafted some impact guys the real Kwefi, or were those 2 previous disasters what he is?  Thoughts?  

[vike daddy]

21 minutes ago, Magnus-Viktor said:

Thoughts?  

while articulately stated, why spend so much time on what COULD have been, with different decisions and picks and strategies? let's move forward, i say.

[vikes635]

After 1st offseason I was like guy has no clue and gave him a F, Even with a good record that 1st year I didn't have faith we were a team on the rise. Last year I anticipated a much worse team than we turned out to be (Brian Flores really came through) but ultimately didn't love a lot of the moves KAM made. He has totally redeemed himself. Between keeping the competitive mindset, landing a high ceiling prospect in JJ and getting a beast Edge rusher after losing Hunter has my grade of him B maybe B- if that was an option. I hope Darnold can hold the fort down for a year so JJ can develop properly and not only learn some things at the QB position but also get acclimated with NFL speed. # I'm becoming a believer! 

[Magnus-Viktor]

52 minutes ago, vikes635 said:

After 1st offseason I was like guy has no clue and gave him a F, Even with a good record that 1st year I didn't have faith we were a team on the rise. Last year I anticipated a much worse team than we turned out to be (Brian Flores really came through) but ultimately didn't love a lot of the moves KAM made. He has totally redeemed himself. Between keeping the competitive mindset, landing a high ceiling prospect in JJ and getting a beast Edge rusher after losing Hunter has my grade of him B maybe B- if that was an option. I hope Darnold can hold the fort down for a year so JJ can develop properly and not only learn some things at the QB position but also get acclimated with NFL speed. # I'm becoming a believer! 

I honestly don't know what to make of him yet.  His first 2 offseasons were so horrific, but also largely out of his control due to Spielman's epic blunders with Cousins, that it's hard to really judge him.  Part of me wants to give him a pass, but he still picked 2 worthless classes outside of a WR which wasn't a need worthy of a 1st round pick due to need.  Then this season, I applaud not being stupid and trading up further for JJ, but why do the other trade for another 1 if not moving up for Maye?  Then again, if that edge rusher turns into the next TJ Watt or Lawrence Taylor, it'll be looking really good, so long as JJ pans out!  

 

I can't give him any higher than a C.  I think I'll give him a D, just because he got rid of Kirk and traded for Hock, and was dealt such a bad hand outside of Jefferson lol.  Turns out I can't change my grade from F to D.  I figured I would be able to, but can't.  

Edited April 30 by Magnus-Viktor

[viking]

I voted B. He's been getting better year over year.

He's made some A+ moves (bringing in Flores & Moving on from Kirk) but also some head scratches (Poorish drafting, not getting the Jefferson deal done)

 

biggest plus is having the balls to admit that Kirk was never going to win a ring in Minnesota. We could have easily matched the Atlanta deal and kept kirk on for 2-4 years.

[Cearbhall]

It may be year three, but I am still enjoying the breath of fresh air. You talk a lot about how Spielman left the team in a bad situation, and I don't disagree completely, but it is worth noting that Spielman didn't leave the cupboards bare.  He left a veteran team that was in win-now mode more than a team focused on the future, but I want a team that has a GM That will focus on the present more than the future sometimes -- especially when the time was right.  Spielman was giving it his best shot with Cousins.

The future cupboard wasn't empty either. Justin Jefferson is a huge piece.  The great record in KAMs first year was Spielman's team -- KAM didn't do much to improve it that year. Hockenson was nice, but if that is all a GM does to improve a team in a year it's pretty bad.  Cupboards must be stocked at a rate much faster than one Hockenson a year.

Spielman was kept around several years too long. KAM has stood out both positively and negatively at times, but mostly not stood out at all. In the next year or two things will break one way or the other for him, but for now I have him at a C and I am happy to see how things work with him for at least another year (probably two).  If he hasn't stood out positively more by then it will be time to move on. Like all GMs, a lot will come down to whether he solves the QB situation.

[Captain Relax]

4 hours ago, Magnus-Viktor said:

I honestly don't know what to make of him yet.  His first 2 offseasons were so horrific, but also largely out of his control due to Spielman's epic blunders with Cousins, that it's hard to really judge him.  Part of me wants to give him a pass, but he still picked 2 worthless classes outside of a WR which wasn't a need worthy of a 1st round pick due to need.  Then this season, I applaud not being stupid and trading up further for JJ, but why do the other trade for another 1 if not moving up for Maye?  Then again, if that edge rusher turns into the next TJ Watt or Lawrence Taylor, it'll be looking really good, so long as JJ pans out!  

 

I can't give him any higher than a C.  I think I'll give him a D, just because he got rid of Kirk and traded for Hock, and was dealt such a bad hand outside of Jefferson lol.  Turns out I can't change my grade from F to D.  I figured I would be able to, but can't.  

How do you know that Kwesi didn't try to move up for Maye?  You have to have a willing partner.

I like that he didn't give up next years first.  I like drafting McCarthy where they did AND moving up to 17 to get the best defensive player in the draft, according to a lot of experts. The first round, Kwesi earned an A.

[SteelKing728]

I'd give Kwesi a C so far. 

2022 was really, really bad. I'm thinking a lot of our draft picks won't even make it to the end of their rookie contracts. Phillips was okay and trading for Hockenson eased some of the pain but his first year was not good. Other GMs can make good moves their first year under the circumstances. Year 1 is an F

Year 2 felt better. Getting Addison, Blackmon and Pace helped tremendously. Getting Byron Murphy was smart. Davenport didn't work out but it was the usual tale for him, never staying healthy. Even the Josh Dobbs and Cam Akers moves were good. Signing Dalton Risner helped mid-season. Getting Flores was awesome. Year 2 is a B.

Year 3 looks like we are headed in the right direction. Yeah we lost Cousins and Hunter, but we got McCarthy and Turner. We might have even figured out our kicker situation. We lost out on a 3rd round comp pick for a guy who might not even start, and that puts a blemish on things. Right now, I'll call this a B-.

All things considered, I'm giving him a C. He still has time to change that though of course!

[vikesfan89]

Not drafting Levis was more on KOC I think then Kwesi. Hopefully they got a better long term starter in McCarthy.  Maybe the Jets bluffed trading back with someone else but I don't blame the Vikings for not taking that chance. The extra first round pick gave them a better chance to trade for number 3 but it didn't guarantee that the Patriots would take it.  They got a potentially great player with it so it's hard to complain.