Section 121: PurplePTSD’s Growing Archive of Vikings Knowledge

Since taking over as GM in January 2022, Kwesi Adofo-Mensah has been a busy man. At times, our Vikings knowledge can struggle to keep up with all it’s supposed to.

Indeed, he has guided the Vikings through a few draft and free agency periods. He helped the team to have a very successful debut season; He is now trying his best to prepare his team for the upcoming challenge in 2023. Importantly, he is doing so while also keeping an eye on life beyond the current season.

January 15, 2023; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Vikings General Manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah looks on prior to the Wild Card Game between the Minnesota Vikings and the New York Giants at US Bank Stadium. Mandatory credit: Matt Krohn-USA TODAY Sports.

Yes, the so-called competitive reconstruction has led to a lot of consequential (controversial?) decisions. Can you remember every trade you made? Even more generally, can you remember how many deals were successful in total?

Likewise, there can be ambiguities about a lot of other little details (not just the trades, as attractive as they often are). In an ideal world, Section 121 could help satisfy some of the desire for clear, precise information.

Section 121: The Making of Vikings Knowledge

The basic idea with Section 121 is to develop a space purpleptsd This can act as a good resource for the readers.

January 8, 2023; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Minnesota Vikings tight end TJ Hockenson (87) walks off the field after the game against the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field. Mandatory credit: Daniel Bartel-USA TODAY Sports.

So far, five articles have been tossed section 121 on purpleptsd, Take a look at what’s included:

August 14, 2020; Eagan, Minnesota, USA; Rick Spielman, general manager of the Minnesota Vikings. Mandatory credit: Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports.

For example, consider only the trade piece. Having them all in one place allows us to see trends and trends. GM hasn’t shied away from trading more broadly in division or conference, but he has favored the AFC (the score is 10-5 in favor of the AFC).

He made nine trades in his pair of drafts.

In four instances, their deals have brought a new player: QB Nick Mullens, DT Ross Blacklock, WR Jalen Rigor, and TE TJ Hockenson. The final three players are those that were acquired to bolster the position along with one youngster who was still serving out his rookie contract. In each instance, the player came to Minnesota with a few years of team control still available to the Vikings.

October 2, 2022; London, United Kingdom; Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Jalen Reagor (5) and Minnesota Vikings defensive tackle Ross Blacklock (96) walk off the field after the win at the end of the second half of an NFL International Series game at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Mandatory credit: Pieter van den Bergh-USA TODAY Sports.

Looking at all draft selections shows that LSU was the program that offered the most players to Minnesota during Adofo-Mensah’s time. They have selected three players from that specific program, the most from any one college.

More importantly, we see that he has laid great emphasis on adding young talent at the secondary level. Following the 2022 and 2023 drafts, Adofo-Mensah added five defensive backs to his team – Lewis Caine, Andrew Booth Jr., Acaleb Evans, Mekhi Blackmon and Jay Ward. Clearly, the defensive backfield is one of the key areas that needs rebuilding in order to be competitive.

August 20, 2022; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Vikings safety Lewis Caine (6) practices before the game against the San Francisco 49ers at US Bank Stadium. Mandatory credit: Jeffrey Baker-USA TODAY Sports.

Of course, Section 121 doesn’t claim a monopoly on Vikings knowledge. There’s no way that’s true at all.

Instead, the new section is on purpleptsd Wants to be a useful resource for readers. All the information can be found elsewhere, but (we hope) things will be presented in a concise, efficient way.

Being able to see how the most recent GMs — Spielman and Adofo-Mensah — are affecting the roster may allow us to see how big the personnel changes loom in 2022-23. Similarly, trade and draft pick trackers are instructive, as the 3-year outlook allows us to understand what kind of talent could be added in future trades and/or picks. Surname? Well, hopefully it’ll just be fun.

July 28, 2022; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Vikings General Manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah looks on during training camp at the TCO Performance Center. Mandatory credit: Matt Krohn-USA TODAY Sports.

The object of section 121 is not to keep a static archive of articles. Conversely, fragments can and should be updated as more things happen. Kwesi Adofo-Mensah pulls off another trade? Great, this will be included in the trade tracker. The situation is the same for other sectors as well.

Oh, and last thing: keep track purpleptsd Today for another addition to section 121. As always, the author welcomes feedback on articles. If you see an error, be sure to point it out Twitter,