The Vikings’ Sam Darnold decision made at least some sense, largely due to the team’s fondness for compensatory picks and the young lad taking over the QB1 job. But, to be sure, Minnesota’s front office picked wrong, contributing to firing Kwesi Adofo-Mensah.
Seattle signed Darnold to a three-year contract for a touch above $100 million. Doing so now looks like a stroke of genius since the Seahawks are coming off a Super Bowl victory. The Vikings, meanwhile, finished outside of the final tournament as a 9-8 team, a modest record that was primarily due to the quarterback spot being so poor. Is there any upside to uplift from the wreckage of that decision?
The Vikings’ Sam Darnold Decision and the New Lineman
Letting Darnold slip away involved getting onto the comp picks board. Better yet, the Vikings earned the top compensatory pick. These extra draft selections start seeing daylight at the end of the 3rd, meaning the best one hits at No. 97 overall. Minnesota got that draft selection.
Backup offensive lineman Caleb Tiernan ended up being the choice at that spot. Many praised the move. After all, the draft prophets and prognosticators believed that Mr. Tiernan would get chosen earlier, meaning Minnesota got some nice value by taking the Northwestern tackle who is believed to be an NFL guard.
On the NFL’s website, Lance Zierlein argued that Tiernan should have gotten scooped up in the 2nd or the 3rd. Snagging him with a draft choice that has been tacked onto the very end of the 3rd represents nice bit of value for the Vikings.
“Highly experienced college tackle who is likely to kick inside due to a lack of length that affects his protection projection,” Zierlein writes. “Tiernan is tall but carries the denseness of frame and core strength of a guard. Feet feature good initial quickness and he takes excellent angles on the move. He often finds early positioning advantages as a base blocker but lacks the anchor and play strength to consistently fortify/sustain. Leaky edges in pass pro will be less concerning with smaller spaces to patrol, while his punch timing and lateral quickness provide advantages. ‘Solid’ feels like the ceiling for Tiernan as a guard/swing tackle who can eventually elevate into a starting role.”
Since the pick took place, Caleb Tiernan has been forced to defend his (supposedly) short arms. And, in fairness, there’s some merit in the topic. Holding off a pass rusher like Danielle Hunter or Aidan Hutchinson is easier if the offensive tackle offers similar length as those fantastic pass rushers. The trenches are a hand battle, folks.
Writing off Tiernan, though, would be foolish. Or, at least, insisting that he’s guaranteed to be a guard just doesn’t make any sense. The massive lineman may have shorter arms than desired, but Tiernan is a hulking 6’8″ and 325 pounds. So, too, is he a very good athlete who has a brain in his head. Oh, and he appears a touch tired of defending his arms, possibly putting a bit more motivation into his work.
No doubt, the Vikings’ Sam Darnold decision was a brutal one. Quite possibly, the miss here is the single most consequential decision in Adofo-Mensah getting canned. Seattle got a franchise passer who is good enough to win a Super Bowl; Minnesota got a late-3rd that got sunk into an offensive lineman. At the end of the day, that franchise-level miss can’t be held against the kid.
Caleb Tiernan will be looking to prove his value sooner rather than later. Doing so will mean lessening the sting for what was an awful misstep from the Minnesota Vikings. He has expressed admiration for Brian O’Neill and noted his enthusiasm about learning from Minnesota’s right tackle.
The rookie lineman is 23.
Senior Editor for Vikings Territory & PurplePTSD . Twitter & Bluesky: @VikingsGazette. Email: k.joudry[at]vikingsterritory[dot]com. Canadian. Jude 1:24-25.