Kevin O’Connell didn’t dodge the question, and he didn’t need much time to answer it.
Asked Thursday whether he ever looks back at the Vikings’ 2022 draft and thinks about Kyle Hamilton, the head coach gave a blunt reply: “I have a time or two, yes.”
That one line says plenty about how Minnesota’s first draft under Kwesi Adofo-Mensah has aged. What started as a busy night in April 2022 has turned into a full-blown regret session for a Vikings team that came away with 10 picks and, ultimately, none of those players still on the roster today. Jalen Nailor, a sixth-rounder, and Ty Chandler, taken in the fifth, stuck around the longest.
The draft began with Minnesota holding the No. 12 overall pick. Then came the move that changed everything: the Vikings traded all the way back to No. 32, where they selected Georgia safety Lewis Cine. That was Adofo-Mensah’s first draft pick as general manager, and it’s the one that still hangs over the organization.
Cine hasn’t come close to justifying that decision, while Hamilton has turned into the exact kind of player Minnesota passed on. In four seasons, Hamilton has made three Pro Bowls and three All-Pro teams, including two first-team nods.
At the time, plenty of observers had Minnesota eyeing Hamilton, who went two picks later to the Ravens. He looked like a natural fit for a team that could have seen him as Harrison Smith’s eventual successor. Instead, the Vikings slid back, chose Cine, and watched the safer, smarter-looking option become one of the NFL’s elite defenders.
Hamilton’s production backs up the regret. In his first 64 NFL games, he has 355 tackles, 8 sacks, 5 interceptions and 6 forced fumbles.
There were other directions Minnesota could have gone at No. 12, too. Jameson Williams, who went to the Lions at No. 12, was another obvious possibility.
Instead, the Vikings passed on the simplest path on the board and walked straight into a draft class that looks worse with each passing year. On Thursday, O’Connell was left to answer for one of the franchise’s most painful what-ifs.
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Vikings Backup QB Battle Says Plenty About J.J. McCarthy Right Now
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