General Manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah is embarking on the second offseason of his "competitive rebuild" of the Vikings, but his first draft class will remain under the microscope because of what it did (and didn't) do this season.
The Vikings and Panthers tied in fielding the fewest rookies to play at least 200 snaps on offense or defense — or about one-fifth of a full season. Injuries were a primary culprit in Minnesota. Last month, nearly half the team's injured reserve list was occupied by draft picks: first-round safety Lewis Cine, second-round cornerback Andrew Booth Jr., fourth-round cornerback Akayleb Evans and sixth-round running back Ty Chandler, who returned.
"There's some guys that didn't get to play a lot, some of them for unfortunate reasons," Adofo-Mensah said Wednesday at his season-ending news conference, "or others just had other people playing in front of them."
He added that he and coach Kevin O'Connell talked about "building bridges from our young players from this year to next, and so we got a lot of players exposure."
Exposure for rookies was limited. Right guard Ed Ingram, who played every snap on offense, accounted for two-thirds of the team's rookie snaps. Linebacker Brian Asamoah emerged late in the season. Undrafted punter Ryan Wright had the league's lowest touchback percentage.
But overall, the Vikings ranked 27th in rookie snaps per game (offense and defense) and last in the NFC North, where the last-place Bears led the league with 15 rookies appearing in games.
Adofo-Mensah will have to navigate the Vikings' tight salary cap puzzle and a veteran-laden roster by largely projecting what the 2022 draft class can offer. The Vikings have only four 2023 draft picks — the 23rd pick in the first round, a third-rounder, a fourth-round and a fifth-rounder — before compensatory picks are awarded this spring.
"When you look at the ages of a lot of guys on sort of the back end of our roster, we've got a lot of good, young talented players," Adofo-Mensah said. "So I don't see that as a limitation to us. But there's obviously always ways to create more picks."
Here's a look at last year's top five draft selections.
Ed Ingram
Ingram, the second-round pick out of LSU, got loads of experience as the only player on offense to play all 1,168 snaps. There were a lot of lessons before and during game action.
The rookie said he often aligned incorrectly (too far back) while stepping on quarterback Kirk Cousins' foot three times. Protecting Cousins was also a problem. No NFL blocker allowed more pressure than Ingram in 2022, according to Pro Football Focus, which tabbed him with surrendering a sack in 10 of 18 games.
Ingram said he's focused on better hand placement and striking defenders, pointing to his block on Colts defender De'Forest Buckner during the Vikings' game-tying, two-point conversion throw against Indianapolis as one of his best plays. Ingram punched into Buckner's chest and angled him inside, clearing a passing lane for Cousins.
"He's done a good job this year of absorbing a lot for a rookie in an offense where we ask our guys to do a lot," O'Connell said. "Multiple plays at the line of scrimmage and multiple plays in the huddle that they've got to be able to switch gears."
"I've challenged him with consistency," he added. "'How many snaps in a row can you put it together? Can you start games fast, so you don't have to then lock back in as the game goes on?'"
Akayleb Evans
Evans, whom Adofo-Mensah traded up to acquire in the fourth round out of Missouri, showed off his disruptive arm length and speed while earning a backup role out of training camp. He played 162 defensive snaps across six games, marking the most playing time by a Vikings rookie on defense. But he did not play after Dec. 4.
Evans showed flashes as a hard-charging perimeter defender with three tackles for losses, two pass deflections and a forced fumble. He left his only two starts against the Bills and Jets due to concussions. He also suffered a third concussion at some point after being drafted, O'Connell said.
The team has worked with Evans to craft a plan for next year. He said he will wear a different helmet that offers extra padding. He also plans to spend the offseason working on tackling form and building up muscle. Evans credited cornerback Patrick Peterson for talking him through changes in "taking my head out of" tackling.
He cleared the concussion protocol before the Jan. 8 regular-season finale at Chicago, but the team held him out for that game and the Jan. 15 playoff loss to the Giants.
"This is the best I've felt," Evans said Monday. "The team was just being cautious with everything. I'm going to do some stuff in the offseason to try to help prevent it as much as possible."
On Thursday night, Evans wrote on Twitter that he wanted to address his mental health by getting off social media. The 23-year-old Evans wrote he's been "dealing with a lot mentally on and off the field." He said he's lost "meaningful relationships" and felt the weight of injuries "while still putting a smile on my face for others."
Brian Asamoah
Asamoah, the third-round linebacker out of Oklahoma, was consistently one of the quickest defenders during spring practices and training camp. But he was stuck behind starting linebackers — Eric Kendricks and Jordan Hicks — who rarely left the field. At 6-0 and 226 pounds, Asamoah is built like a strong safety. His early roles were limited to mirroring athletic quarterbacks, debuting on defense against the Bears' Justin Fields in Week 5.
Asamoah's playing time increased in December when Kendricks and Hicks were on injury reports. Adofo-Mensah credited time behind established starters as critical for Asamoah's development, which was cut short by a concussion on special teams in the playoff loss to the Giants. He had a combined 14 tackles across a three-game span with an increased role against the Colts, Giants and Packers. Veterans including Kendricks and Danielle Hunter lauded his growth.
The 22-year-old's confidence stood out from the start. He claimed he called his shot before jarring the ball loose from Giants tight end Daniel Bellinger in the Dec. 24 win.
"I told myself I was going to punch the ball out," Asamoah said, "and I did it."
Andrew Booth Jr.
Booth, whom Adofo-Mensah traded up to acquire in the second round, had an unfortunate slew of injuries follow him from Clemson to Minnesota. He is the Vikings' youngest player (born in September 2000) and a physically gifted, 6-foot corner with speed. But he missed many stretches of his rookie season: spring practices while recovering from hernia surgery, parts of the preseason with an ankle injury, and four games with a quad injury.
Booth returned midseason and appeared in two games on defense. He replaced Evans against the Bills and started the next week against the Cowboys. After playing 68 snaps against Dallas, Booth emerged with soreness in his knee and underwent surgery on Nov. 28 to repair meniscus damage.
"He's been nicked a little bit more," former defensive coordinator Ed Donatell said in November. "That puts you behind some. Again, every player is different. Some guys are more steep with the growth and some are a little more gradual. In the end, time will play out and show what quality players both [Booth and Evans] will be."
Lewis Cine
Cine, Adofo-Mensah's first draft pick from a loaded Georgia defense, emerged from his second preseason game with a knee injury that kept him out of the exhibition finale and regular-season opener. He returned as the team's seventh defensive back — behind five starters and safety Josh Metellus — and played in three games with just two snaps on defense.
Cine was blocking on a Vikings punt return during his third NFL game, the Oct. 2 win against the Saints in London, when he suffered compound leg fractures to his tibia and fibula. He underwent two procedures in London before returning to the Vikings facility eight days later.
Last month, Cine walked without assistance and said his rehab was both painful and "on schedule" to bring him back to on-field work this summer. He said he intends to play in 2023.
"You obviously feel pain, but it's more of a mental grind," Cine said. "Because you go from being healthy to knocked out. You have to kind of sit on the sideline and watch your guys. You want to be part of it, but you can't. There's also the mental grind of, 'I got to get back, I got to get back.' "