Vikings' preseason opener underscored how mediocre their 2022 draft was

The Vikings are big on tradition. This season they will honor the late Bud Grant, their legendary coach, and on Thursday night backup quarterback Nick Mullens paid homage to the end of the 2022 season by throwing a short pass to a tight end on fourth down.

The Vikings' 13-victory season ended when Kirk Cousins threw a check-down pass to tight end T.J. Hockenson on the last fourth down of the season instead of floating a pass in the general direction of superstar Justin Jefferson.

It wasn't the worst postseason play in Vikings history. It might not even make the top 50. But it became an emblematic moment because it capped a playoff game in which a 13-victory team, playing at home, lost to a nine-win team to end what was otherwise a stunningly successful season.

Thursday night, in the Vikings' first preseason game of the 2023 season, they similarly paid awkward homage to 2022. This time, they provided a reminder of just how odd and unproductive, to date, the new braintrust's first draft was.

Their first two picks in 2022 were safety Lewis Cine and cornerback Andrew Booth Jr.

The concern with Cine was that he was not particularly big and that his college success came while he was surrounded by exceptional talent at Georgia. The concern with Booth was that he was injury-prone.

Thursday night, Cine three times rushed toward a ballcarrier and launched himself. Three times, he found himself on his back.

Booth committed an obvious roughing-the-quarterback penalty that was waved off, and got beat far too easily on a touchdown pass.

New defensive coordinator Brian Flores is the systemic opposite of his predecessor, Ed Donatell. Donatell wanted to slow opposing offenses, hoping they would make a mistake if forced to maintain long drives. It's not an unusual approach. Tony Dungy and Monte Kiffin perfected it while making the Cover 2 defense famous.

The difference between Donatell and those Hall-of-Fame caliber coaches is that Dungy and Kiffin were able to produce pressure on the quarterback and employ defensive backs who could prevent big plays and punish receivers. Donatell's defense provided the worst of both worlds — passivity without playmaking.

Flores wants to be more aggressive, which means his cornerbacks will often be forced to play man-to-man, one-on-one, with opposing receivers.

To beat out Camryn Bynum and become a starting safety, Cine will have to play better than he did Thursday. He made a nice open-field tackle on the Vikings' first defensive play of the game, but otherwise looked out of his depth.

Preseason results aren't always predictive, but the Vikings must expect better from him.

Booth has the athletic ability to justify his draft position, but he will have to prove he's durable and capable of man-to-man coverage.

There is a dramatic difference between NFL cornerbacks who can combine tight coverage and an awareness of where the ball is. Booth will have to prove himself in that regard, while his competitors for playing time — Akayleb Evans, Mekhi Blackmon and Joejuan Williams — look more capable of reacting to the ball in flight.

In 2022, the Vikings drafted Cine, Booth, guard Ed Ingram, linebacker Brian Asamoah, defensive lineman Esezi Otomewo, running back Ty Chandler and tackle Vederian Lowe.

Ingram, like Cine and Booth, has much to prove. He's a starter, but he often looked like the weak link in the offensive line last season. Asamoah should be a starting inside linebacker. Chandler looks likely to be Alexander Mattison's primary backup at running back.

Cine, Booth and Asamoah could remedy the lack of speed and explosiveness that opposing offenses so often exposed last season.

If they don't, the Vikings' 2022 draft may not qualify as an event to be honored when the team pays homage to its history.