Minnesota Vikings introduce 2022 first round pick, Georgia star Lewis Cine
The Minnesota Vikings introduced 2022 first round draft pick Lewis Cine at TCO Performance Center in Eagan.
MINNEAPOLIS - Lewis Cine spent a good portion of his Thursday night staring at his cell phone, watching and waiting as the best prospects in college football were being selected in the first round of the NFL Draft.
He was about to give up, head to his couch and take a nap. After all, he wouldn’t have to wait long during Friday’s second round. Then, his phone rang and it was a Twin Cities area code. It was Minnesota Vikings’ general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah. After swapping picks with the Detroit Lions earlier in the night, the Vikings were taking the Georgia safety with the last pick of the first round, No. 32 overall.
Three months removed from winning a College Football Playoff national title with the Bulldogs, Cine’s NFL dream had become a reality.
"I joke about it now, but last night was kind of nerve-wracking. I was sweating. I kind of was like I guess I’m going to go Day 2, so I went to the couch about to take a nap and that’s when my phone started ringing," Cine said Friday as he was introduced at TCO Performance Center. "It said Minneapolis, so I was like ‘Oh my God.’ Picked up the phone, Kwesi was talking and passed the phone around. I was real excited to get the call."
Cine is Adofo-Mensah’s first draft choice as the Vikings’ new general manager, and the two shared a moment Thursday night.
"You get to call somebody, I said, ‘Hey, we’re a building full of dream chasers. You want to come chase dreams with us?’ He just starts yelling," Adofo-Mensah said. "That was a great moment, something I’ll never forget for the rest of my life."
Cine took in his draft moment with family and friends in Texas. He hopped an early flight to the Twin Cities on Friday, and got a tour of the Vikings' practice facility, his new home for the foreseeable future. He called TCO Performance Center "elite."
He met with Adofo-Mensah and O’Connell individually to talk football and life before being introduced to reporters Friday afternoon.
His numbers on the field speak for themselves. Cine played in all 14 games as a freshman for the Bulldogs in 2019, making 20 tackles and adding one interception as well as two pass break-ups. He started 10 games in 2020, finishing with 52 tackles.
He was a Third Team All-American in 2021 and earned Second Team All-SEC honors, making 73 tackles with one interception and nine pass break-ups in 15 starts. At 6-1 and 200 pounds, Cine showed his athleticism at the NFL Combine with a 4.37 40-yard dash and 36.5-inch vertical.
He’s a safety who plays violent, but within the rules and delivers big hits. It sounds a lot like his new teammate, Harrison Smith. Cine embraces playing with the physicality that comes with being a safety.
"That’s one thing that’s been my bread-and-butter since I started to play the game. That’s what I love about it. You can be as physical as you want, break a man’s will and get away with it," Cine said Thursday night.
He added Friday, "I can be all-out physical and just do me on the football field. When you think about it, football is a violent game. A lot of things you do in football, you can’t do in the outside world or you’ll get arrested. I love that fact."
Cine was born in Haiti and raised in Florida. He moved to Boston when he was 8 years old. He played high school football for Deion Sanders, then became a star for Kirby Smart at Georgia. The Bulldogs had a historic night Thursday, with five defensive players drafted in the first round.
Cine is one of three to be drafted into the NFC North. Linebacker Quay Walker and defensive tackle Devonte Wyatt went to the Packers. Travon Walker went No. 1 overall to the Jaguars.
"I’ll tell you who’s happy other than myself, Kirby Smart is happy. He’s real happy, he set history for the school. Kirby is really happy," Cine said.
Cine was one of the top defensive players on a team that won a national title, but it’s still sinking in that he’s now in the NFL. He wore No. 16 with the Bulldogs, but that number is currently occupied. He’ll wear No. 6 for now.
"It’s still surreal to be honest. Everything’s not going to blow up, like whoa this is serious, until I start looking for places to stay and then have my daughter come here. It still hasn’t hit me," Cine said.