The Minnesota Vikings entered the 2022 NFL Draft, the first under GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, eyeing an early-round safety to pair with Harrison Smith.
Years later, the franchise is still feeling the effects of the decisions that came next.
With every safety still on the board, the Vikings famously traded out of the No. 12 overall spot with NFC North rival Detroit, moving all the way back to pick No. 31. Their pick there was Georgia safety Lewis Cine, who suffered a brutal leg injury during his rookie year and never developed into the franchise player Minnesota was coveting.
The safety the Vikings passed on at No. 12 — Notre Dame star Kyle Hamilton — has developed into one of the NFL’s best, and the Baltimore Ravens are projected to pay him like it in short order.
Analyst Anthony Holzman-Escareno of NFL.com predicts the Ravens will secure their multi-year Pro Bowler long-term with an extension worth north of $24 million per year.
“The Ravens have made major investments in the secondary in recent years, drafting cornerback Nate Wiggins and safety Malaki Starks with their last two first-round picks,” he wrote. “But the best piece on the defense is Hamilton. Whenever his deal gets done, it will make him the league’s highest-paid safety. Whether he can pull the top of the safety market up to the top of the cornerback market is another interesting storyline to watch.”
The Vikings would love to have Hamilton’s looming mega extension on their to-do list, but you can’t change the past. Minnesota got some solid seasons out of former fourth-round pick Camryn Bynum and will be looking for more out of unsung star Josh Metellus alongside Smith in 2025.
Minnesota’s 2022 draft blunder will likely chase the team into 2026, as Adofo-Mensah and company passed on signing or drafting a replacement for Bynum this offseason. The team is clearly in good hands, though, as Minnesota’s GM is one of the brightest minds in the game and just signed a multi-year extension with the Vikings.
