Minnesota Vikings Decision-Makers

The 2025 NFL Draft kicks off this Thursday. Every team in the league has a team of people making decisions in the draft. For the best teams, it’s a near seamless interaction between the coaches and personnel department. The coaches communicate their needs and wants. The personnel department find the players that best fit those needs and wants. For the Minnesota Vikings, general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and head coach Kevin O’Connell top the respective personnel and coach flow chart. Here’s a look at the too often unsung heroes that populate the Vikings personnel department. 

General Manager: Kwesi Adofo-Mensah

Senior Vice President of Player Personnel: Ryan Grigson

Vice President of Football Operations: Demetrius Washington

Director of Player Personnel: Ryan Monnens

Assistant Director of Player Personnel: Chisom Opara

Director of Pro Personnel: Sam DeLuca

Senior Personnel Executive: Jamaal Stephenson

Director of College Scouting: Mike Sholiton

Assistant Director of College Scouting: Pat Roberts

National Scout: Sean Gustus

National Scout: David Williams

College Scout: Frank Acevedo

College Scout: Jake Essler

College Scout: Blaine Gramer

College Scout: Matt Kelly

College Scout: Steve Sabo

College Scout/BLESTO: Jack Murphy

Pro Scout: Salli Clavelle

Pro Scout: Alex Dale

Pro Scout: Shane Normandeau

Pro Personnel Consultant: Andy Hanson

Player Personnel and Player Development Analyst: Taylor Brooks

College and Pro Scouting Analyst: Michelle Mankoff

Senior Football Operations Manager: Kaitlin Zarecki

Senior Manager of Football Administration: Emily Badis

Senior Manager of Family Engagement: Quinn Adams

Football Quantitative Methods Senior Analyst: Chris French

Football Quantitative Methods Analyst: Cole Bransford

Director, Football Information Systems: Luke Burson

Database Administrator: Mike Desplenter

Football Information Systems Developer: Anthony Caron

Football Information Systems Developer: Derek McCormick

Player Personnel Consultant: Paul Wiggin

Football Quantitative Methods Analyst: Chenzo Funari

SQL Database Associate: Eva Richterkessing

Scouting Associate: Dabness Atkins

Scouting Associate: Brian Schnorr

It’s a team. When Kwesi Adofo-Mensah was hired in 2022 to replace Rick Spielman, the Vikings were swapping a career football scout with a former stock trader. Adofo-Mensah was one of the new wave of football decision-makers that came from a problem-solving, analytics background. I was skeptical. I’ve been resistant to accepting this move to football decision-making based on analytics. I see it as a move to relying more on spreadsheets than actually watching football. A RAS score being more important than how a player actually moves and reacts on the field. I was worried that Adofo-Mensah would move the Vikings in that direction. There’s no doubt that his strength is in his problem-solving and analytical processes. What I have come to appreciate about the Vikings general manager is his awareness of his weaknesses. He knew that he had to embrace and get better at his football scouting. He brought long-time football scout Ryan Grigson to assist him. The hiring of Demetrius Washington also showed that Adofo-Mensah wasn’t leaving his analytical ways. The Vikings decision-making group is a nice blend of analytics and real football scouting. 

Kwesi Adofo-Mensah has overseen three drafts. His first was terrible. Only three players remain from the 10 selected in the 2022 NFL Draft. Of those three, sixth-round receiver Jalen Nailor has been the most productive. Receiver Jordan Addison and perhaps cornerback Mekhi Blackmon are the keepers from the 2023 NFL Draft. If quarterback J.J. McCarthy and outside linebacker Dallas Turner become the players that they were drafted to be, the 2024 draft will be considered franchise-altering and an all-timer. While Adofo-Mensah’s draft decisions have been rightfully questioned, he seems to be trending in the right direction but it’s his work in free agency that should get him a deserved second contract in a few weeks. 

I like seeing Paul Wiggin on the Vikings personnel roster. He’s 90 and has been with the Vikings since 1985. His first seven years in Minnesota was as the defensive line coach under Bud Grant and then Jerry Burns. In 1992, Wiggin moved into the Vikings front office. He’s been assisting with the draft ever since. As a player, he was a Pro Bowl defensive lineman with the Cleveland Browns. He was a teammate of Jim Brown. Sadly, there aren’t a lot of those players left. Wiggin is a football-lifer and I enjoy seeing him continuing to assist the Vikings.