Kwesi Adofo-Mensah’s first draft pick as general manager of the Minnesota Vikings did not go as planned.
In the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft, the Vikings traded the No. 12 overall pick to rival Detroit, moving back 20 spots to acquire picks Nos. 32, 34 and 66. With the 32nd pick, Minnesota selected Lewis Cine, a safety for the then national champion Georgia Bulldogs.
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Like the majority of Adofo-Mensah’s 10 selections in that draft, Cine’s time in the Twin Cities was short-lived. He battled injuries throughout his tenure and was released by the team this past summer on roster cut-down day.
The Vikings might think hard about drafting a safety from Georgia’s program in the future, but Matt Holder of Bleacher Report predicts the opposite, linking Minnesota to All-SEC Bulldogs star Malaki Starks in April’s 2025 NFL Draft.
Here was his take on the Vikings possibly landing a player of Starks’ ability at an insane value near the end of the first round:
This might be a bit of a pipe dream since Starks ranks fourth on B/R’s big board, but safeties tend to fall in the draft due to positional value. For example, none have been selected in the first round during the last two drafts and Kyle Hamilton slid to pick 14 in 2022 despite being a highly touted prospect. If the Georgia product falls, the Vikings should do what they can to get him seeing as Harrison Smith’s and Camryn Bynum’s contracts are about to expire.
Starks currently sits No. 8 overall on draft guru Mel Kiper Jr.’s Big Board for ESPN, so the Vikings would need some luck to grab him in the back half of the first round.
His versatility alone makes him a virtual lock to be taken inside the top 20 picks this April. He logged 271 snaps in the slot this season for Georgia, flashing strong coverage skills to go along with good size (6-foo-1, 205 pounds) and physicality in the run game. PFF credited him with 18 run stuffs in 2024, which was seventh most on the team.
Vinne Iyer of The Sporting News recently mocked Starks to the Miami Dolphins at pick No. 13, and that feels about right at this stage of the process.
The Vikings have some big decisions to make on safety Cam Bynum and main slot corner Byron Murphy Jr. this offseason. Starks would be a home-run pick for Minnesota in the first round, especially if Bynum or Murphy sign elsewhere in March. But with limited draft capital to move up the board, the Vikings will likely be selecting too late for their GM to land some potential redemption from that brutal first draft class in 2022.