This won't be an easy fix

I'm pretty middle of the road with these two.

For KAM he didn't get enough in the trade down. I could care less that it's with a division rival. That's dinosaur thinking. Trades within divisions are becoming more and more common and will continue to happen at a higher rate. And the player Detroit got appears to be every bit the bust that Cine is.

My problem is that it's clear he had that trade worked out before Minnesota was even on the clock. He predetermined that he wanted to move and took less value. That's my problem.

I actually don't hate the Cine pick. Hamilton was a Part-Time Big Nickel ala Josh Metellus after initially being benched in Baltimore. Big whoop. Davis can't rush the passer any better than Phillips. Who did Kwesi really whiff on getting so far from that 1st Round aside from McDuffie and the WRs?

Cine was the 3rd Safery picked in that round. The Cowboys, who are great at drafting Defense, had a mid-round grade on him. The notion you don't pick Safeties (or Centers or Guards, etc.) in the 1st is again, dinosaur thinking. Teams pick those positions all the damn time now. You know, because of a thing called BPA.

Harrison Smith should end up in the HOF. He was a 1st Round pick with inarguably less of a collegiate resume than Cine. Look at that 1st Round. Hardly a bunch of All Pros so far. Hate that Cine busted, hate the trade value. Totally get it. But arguing it was the wrong position is superficial.

I don't hate the Booth pick either. Cook was just as injury prone. And these are 50/50 picks in terms of working out. Which is why it might make sense to spend high Round picks on traditionally 'safer' picks like Safety or OG. But nothing is guaranteed. The Guards picked before Cine haven't done much so far.

What I do hate is panicking at the end of the Guard run and overdrafting Ingram by nearly 2 full rounds. I had a middle of the 4th grade on him. That was a massive reach. Massive.

And I hate that he retained short-armed, anchorless Bradbury who is only good at run blocking and only in an OZB system. He doesn't fit what O'Connell wants to run. I believe Kevin talked Kwesi into it and Kwesi just said 'screw it, we'll keep him but with an easy out'. I hate that Kwesi completely passed on the best ILB FA Class in ages, many of whom were signing for dirt cheap. Spielman's cap crap didn't prevent signing an upgrade from Bradbury or Hicks. That's a fact.

Busting on the 1st and 2nd pick and compounding that with a massive reach is bad enough. Missing out on deep, cheap FA Classes while retaining two guys who unquestionably will not be part of the future is worse. Letting your HC talk you into picking a luxury WR in the 1st in your second Draft with all sorts of Linemen available just keeps the Ls coming for Kwesi. You can get WR2 deep into most Drafts. Period. Total luxury pick with quality Offensive and Defensive Linemen just sitting there.

I will give him credit for Pace. That took ignoring all Analytics and looking at pure performance. I think Carter II has just as much upside. The Lowry signing is a headscratcher, though. As are the dead cap last year deals. Davenport was worth the risk, he had only missed like 21% of snaps the last few years, so not the glass cannon everyone acts like he was. But not having anyone ready to replace Wonnum makes that signing too risky.

Schlottman sucks. What they've done with Reed is hard to fathom. Z was a good signing until he turned into a crybaby about his contract.

I will give him credit for not extending Cousins. You just know the Wilfs were in his ear to lock up Captain .500. Kudos on that. But two drafts and Free Agent offseasons in and it's just a mixed bag. For every good move like Hockenson there's at least one that looks bad.

If he can get JJ extended and get the Wilfs to lift the 'Competitive Rebuild' AND starts to address the interior Trenches things will start looking brighter. Right now I'd give him a 50/50 chance of seeing another contract with the Vikings.

That's basically my point: he got nothing out of the 12th pick, but the overall mediocrity of that draft keeps it from looking so bad...yet. But I think it's a matter of time before someone from the 2022 first round elevates their play and there's a couple Pro Bowlers picked from 12-31, and everyone carrying a pitchfork with KAM's name on it will be riled up with, "He could have picked xxxx!!"

Maybe it's the Ryan Grigson effect. I thought hiring him was a major head scratcher and I agree with Brad Spielberger's take at 1:52:

I actually agree with the "competitive rebuild" approach.

*ducks*

JJ doesn't want to sign up for a rebuild. He's too competitive for that. He wants to win and win now! Rightfully so... And all the nonsense about trading away JJ for picks? What a joke that is. Would you trade JJ for all of the draft picks we've made in the past two years? Three years? Nope. You hold onto your generational talents...

If KAM and KO can't make it work within a competitive rebuild, what makes anyone think they can make it all work in a full rebuild like Chicago is doing? We have two great tackles, the best WR in the game, a top TE, etc. There are enough pieces in place to make this competitive rebuild work. There is a core there. Build around it and make it work. If they can't do that, they certainly aren't blowing it up and building it up from nothing. I promise you that.

The offensive line is already one of the better pass protecting units in the league, it's up to O'Connell and Kirk to get the ball out quicker / call less long-developing passes. With Bradbury on the verge of playing and Risner potentially taking Ingram's job, the OL could be a really good unit... I dunno about the run game, though.

The defense needs a lot more, the pass rush / pass defense isn't close to good enough with the personnel. Hunter (and maybe Davenport) is the only one who can generate pressure, and the CBs can't hold up 1-on-1 when Flores sends the blitz. They need at least one quality interior rusher, of which Suh and Joseph are not that anymore.

The one solid immediate draft contributor, Jordan Addison, KAM is said to not have even wanted him, he wanted another tradeback out of the first round. The rumor is O'Connell had to scream bloody gore to get KAM to stay first round and take Best Player Available. KAM and KOC are two peas in a pod, boy geniuses without the genius part. They are always trying to be clever and smart and outthink themselves.

The Vikings problem has always been. You will not ever change and or start to better yourself until you hit rock bottom…. We have never hit that rock bottom tier of teams that every homecoming committee wants on their schedule. Maybe it’s time to let it go?