3. Navigational efficiency
The Vikings were able to display a navigational efficiency in swapping picks that would be the envy of Dwight K. Schrute in the “Garage Sale” episode of the The Office, when he went from a thumbtack to a telescope before Jim and Pam offered up miracle legumes.
Going from 97 to 102 and picking up 142 (while sending 187) was a lynchpin for the whole weekend, providing collateral to dance with a willing participant.
The Vikings then used the 172nd pick to acquire 201 and 202 to further round out the roster (more on that below).
“I think a lot of times people think we make an action, there’s a series of events that led to that action. Even if you think of our draft-day trades, it’s 102, but we ended up getting 139 and 142, which was a plan to take those next steps,” Adofo-Mensah said. “So all those connected things are musings that I think through, and I wake up and I tell them to Kevin and I tell them to my staff. They say, ‘You’re right.’ Then there’s new ones in there. It comes out in a vision.
“It’s cool. We’re almost like a band, where we come up with a song and everybody’s got ideas and you guys get to see the final product,” he added. “Hopefully it’s a beautiful song like “Bicycle” by Queen or something like that and not something on the worst hits track.”