Kwesi Adofo-Mensah (QUAY-see ah-dough-fo MEN-suh), who was hired as the Minnesota Vikings General Manager on Jan. 26, 2022, enters his third season in Minnesota and 12th season in the NFL in 2024. Adofo-Mensah's first season as a general manager saw the Vikings win the NFC North for the first time since 2017 and secure the second-most wins (13) in a single season in team history.
Prior to his hire by the Vikings, Adofo-Mensah worked closely with Cleveland Browns Executive Vice President of Football Operations and General Manager Andrew Berry and provided input for all roster and strategy decisions. Additionally, he assisted Berry and the football staff with overseeing and managing the day-to-day operations of the team.
In his second season in Minnesota, Adofo-Mensah watched his 2023 NFL Draft class step up in the absence of injured veterans. Rookie WR Jordan Addison assumed the Vikings' No. 1 wide receiver role while Justin Jefferson was on Reserve/Injured, starting 14 of the 17 games he played. His 10 receiving touchdowns tied for the most among all rookies in the NFL (Sam LaPorta) and tied for the fourth most among all players in the league. Addison became the 13th player in NFL history to record at least 900 receiving yards and 10 receiving touchdowns in his rookie season, and he was tabbed the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Month for October, becoming the first Viking to achieve the honor in 10 years (WR Cordarrelle Patterson, 2013).
In addition to Addison, third-round pick CB Mekhi Blackmon and fifth-rounder QB Jaren Hall both made multiple starts as rookies in 2023. Blackmon appeared in 15 games, making three starts, and he was the only rookie league wide to tally at least eight passes defensed, an interception and a fumble recovery during the 2023 season. Hall started a pair of games in 2023 after QB Kirk Cousins sustained a season-ending injury at Green Bay in Week 8.
Adofo-Mensah made a slew of savvy roster moves in his first year, including signing quarterback Kirk Cousins to an extension, signing veteran free agent outside linebacker Za'Darius Smith and executing an in-season trade for tight end T.J. Hockenson, all of which earned Pro Bowl honors for the 2022 season. Additionally, Adofo-Mensah also re-signed cornerback Patrick Peterson, who experienced one of the best seasons of his Hall of Fame career, registering five interceptions and 15 passes defended, both the second-highest single-season totals of this career.
Adofo-Mensah helped oversee the Browns' 2021 NFL Draft, where the team selected CB Greg Newsome II and LB Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, two immediate-impact rookies who landed on the NFL's All-Rookie Team. Newsome, their first-round selection (26th overall), started in 11 games and posted nine passes defensed, the most by a Browns rookie since CB Denzel Ward in 2018. Owusu-Koramoah, their second-round pick (52nd overall), started in 10 games, posted 76 tackles, two forced fumbles, 1.5 sacks and three tackles for loss. Owusu-Koramoah and Cowboys LB Micah Parsons were the only two rookies in the NFL to have at least 75 tackles and two forced fumbles in 2021.
Prior to the Browns, Adofo-Mensah spent seven seasons with the San Francisco 49ers, where he first entered the NFL. During his tenure with the 49ers, Adofo-Mensah quickly advanced in the football research and development department. He joined the team as football research and development analyst (2013-15) before earning promotions to manager of football research and development in 2017 and director of football research and development in 2018. As the lead of football research and development, Adofo-Mensah ran the team's efforts to develop and implement advanced quantitative methods for game strategy and personnel evaluation, playing a vital role in helping the 2019 NFC No. 1 playoff seed 49ers capture the conference title.
While with the 49ers, Adofo-Mensah helped the front office select three All-Pros (LB Fred Warner, wide receiver Deebo Samuel and TE George Kittle) and the 2019 Associated Press Defensive Rookie of the Year, defensive end Nick Bosa. Warner inked a long-term contract with the 49ers, making him the highest-paid inside linebacker in the NFL.
In June 2021, Adofo-Mensah led a session at the NFL and Black College Football Hall of Fame's fourth-annual Quarterback and Coaching Summit and inaugural Ozzie Newsome General Manager Forum, where he shared his personal story of his rise from a trader and portfolio manager on Wall Street to working in NFL front offices with a data-driven approach to finding talent while providing a quantitative view to grading a quarterback's short, medium and deep ball accuracy that could be used across the league.
Adofo-Mensah began his professional career as an associate portfolio manager at Taylor Woods Capital and vice president/executive director at Credit Suisse as a commodities trader before entering the NFL in 2013. The Cherry Hill, N.J., native received his bachelor's degree in economics from Princeton, where he also played basketball. Adofo-Mensah received his master's degree in economics from Stanford.
