Who is your 2023 NFL Draft “crush” for the Vikings?

Who’s the one guy you’d love to see our team take?

We all get one. . .or at least one. . .every year when the NFL Draft rolls around, and we usually try to find a time to talk about it here in this space. Now, with the 2023 selection meeting just three weeks away, now sounds like as good a time as any to pose the question.

Minnesota Vikings fans. . .who is your “draft crush” for this year for our favorite team?

Your draft crush doesn’t have to be someone that’s going to go in the first round or anything. It can be a guy from your favorite college team, a long-shot prospect that you’d like to see get a chance. . .your criteria for your draft crush are your own. To kick things off, I’ll start with mine.

Anyone that’s followed the DN Twitter account for any period of time, particularly on Saturday afternoons during the fall, knows how much I like Minnesota Golden Gophers running back Mohammed Ibrahim. And why not? The man has been tearing it up for the Gophers for a long time now. . .maybe too long, which is something I’ll get to here in a moment. . .and has what it takes to be a productive back at the NFL level, in my opinion.

During his time with the Gophers, Ibrahim pretty much rewrote the school’s record books at the running back position. He holds just about every meaningful record for the Gophers, which is no mean feat given the talent that the program has had at the position throughout its history. He rarely puts the ball on the ground and has shown a knack for grinding out tough yardage.

On the other hand, the Gophers did everything they could to (almost literally) run the guy into the ground over the past few years. A year after suffering a torn Achilles that ended his season in the opening game, Ibrahim carried the ball a whopping 304 times for the Gophers this past season. It makes you wonder how much tread might be left on the proverbial tires. Then again, he showed he was more than capable of shouldering that burden.

I know that Ibrahim is a little bit older than most rookies and, again, has seen a lot of carries over his college career. But, in today’s NFL, running backs usually aren’t around for long stretches of time. Given his level of production during his time with the Gophers, I think that Mo Ibrahim is going to make some NFL team very happy, so it could just as well be my team.

So, lay it on us, folks. Who’s your draft crush for the 2023 NFL Draft?