In the leadup to the 2023 NFL Draft, Vikings.com is taking a look at prospects who have garnered a range of attention from national outlets. The series will include rankings by those national outlets, stats and background information for multiple prospects.
Vikings status at running back
The Vikings have everyone in their 2022 running backs group under contract for 2023.
Dalvin Cook handled the rock on 264 of Minnesota's 404 rush attempts (65.3 percent) last season and accounted for 1,173 of the team's 1,661 rushing yards (70.6 percent).
Minnesota re-signed Alexander Mattison and extended fullback C.J. Ham during free agency. Kene Nwangwu and Ty Chandler are aiming to take another step forward in 2023 in their third and second seasons, respectively.
Expert rankings
NFL.com's Daniel Jeremiah currently has three running backs in his overall Top 50: 3. Bijan Robinson, 29. Jahmyr Gibbs and 50. Zach Charbonnet.
ESPN's Mel Kiper, Jr., has one RB in his overall Top 25: 9. Robinson.
Rankings for running backs by Jeremiah, his NFL Media counterpart Bucky Brooks, Kiper, analytics site Pro Football Focus and The Athletic's Dane Brugler are listed below.
Prospects
Note: Heights and weights are from each player's profile on NFL.com (linked for each player's name).
School: Texas | Year: Junior | Ht: 5-foot-11 | Wt: 215 pounds
Experts' Position Rankings
Daniel Jeremiah: RB1
Bucky Brooks: RB1
Mel Kiper, Jr.: RB1
Pro Football Focus: RB1
Dane Brugler: RB1
2022 stats: games; rushes for yards and TD; receptions for yards and TD
Star and understudy: After becoming the first two-time winner of Arizona High School Player of the Year, Robinson became the fourth Longhorn to win the Doak Walker Award (nation's top RB). He also connected in Austin and has become friends with Texas fan and megastar Matthew McConaughey.
School: Alabama (after Georgia Tech) | Year: Junior | Ht: 5-foot-9 | Wt: 199 pounds
Experts' Position Rankings
Daniel Jeremiah: RB2
Bucky Brooks: RB2
Mel Kiper, Jr.: RB2
Pro Football Focus: RB2
Dane Brugler: RB2
2022 stats: 12 games; 151 rushes for 926 yards and 7 TD; 44 receptions for 444 yards and 3 TD; 12 kickoff returns for 254 yards (19.8 average)
Thinking alike: Jeremiah and NFL.com's Lance Zierlein both compared Gibbs to Saints RB Alvin Kamara for his pass-catching abilities.
School: UCLA (after Michigan) | Year: Senior | Ht: 6-foot-0 | Wt: 214 pounds
Experts' Position Rankings
Daniel Jeremiah: RB3
Bucky Brooks: RB3
Mel Kiper, Jr.: RB4
Pro Football Focus: RB3
Dane Brugler: RB4
2022 stats: 10 games; 195 rushes for 1,359 yards and 14 TD; 37 receptions for 321 yards
Up, down, up: After earning Michigan's Offensive Rookie of the Year honors in 2019 with 726 yards on 149 carries, Charbonnet only appeared in five games and rushed just 19 times in 2020. He transferred to UCLA and posted 1,137 yards with 13 scores in 2021.
School: Texas A&M | Year: Junior | Ht: 5-foot-8 ½ | Wt: 188 pounds
Experts' Position Rankings
Daniel Jeremiah: Not Ranked in Top 50 Overall
Bucky Brooks: RB4
Mel Kiper, Jr.: RB3
Pro Football Focus: RB4
Dane Brugler: RB3
2022 stats: 10 games; 196 rushes for 1,102 yards and 8 TD; 36 receptions for 196 yards and 3 TD; 11 kickoff returns for 312 yards (28.4 average) and 1 TD
Leading the way: Achane led FBS players with 7.0 yards per carry in 2021. He also clocked the fastest time among this year's running backs at the NFL Scouting Combine with a 4.32 in the 40-yard dash. His 10-yard split of 1.51 seconds ranked second behind East Carolina's Keaton Mitchell.
School: Tulane | Year: Redshirt Jr. | Ht: 5-foot-10 | Wt: 201 pounds
Experts' Position Rankings
Daniel Jeremiah: Not Ranked in Top 50 Overall
Bucky Brooks: RB5
Mel Kiper, Jr.: RB7
Pro Football Focus: RB8
Dane Brugler: RB9
2022 stats: 13 games; 229 rushes for 1,581 yards and 19 TD; 22 receptions for 256 yards and 2 TD
Closing strong: Spears capped his Tulane career riding a wave of 100-yard games. He hit triple digits in the last eight games of the season on the way to earning American Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Year honors. The outburst included 181 at Cincinnati on Nov. 25, 1999, against UCF on Dec. 3 in the conference championship game and 205 against Southern California in the Cotton Bowl.
School: UAB | Year: Junior | Ht: 5-foot-10 | Wt: 209 pounds
Experts' Position Rankings
Daniel Jeremiah: Not Ranked in Top 50 Overall
Bucky Brooks: Not Ranked in Top 5 RB
Mel Kiper, Jr.: RB5
Pro Football Focus: RB5
Dane Brugler: RB11
2022 stats: 11 games; 233 rushes for 1,713 yards and 19 TD; 2 receptions for 10 yards
Above average: McBride led FBS players in 2022 with an average gain of 7.35 yards.
School: TCU | Year: Junior | Ht: 5-foot-11 | Wt: 215 pounds
Experts' Position Rankings
Daniel Jeremiah: Not Ranked in Top 50 Overall
Bucky Brooks: Not Ranked in Top 5 RB
Mel Kiper, Jr.: RB6
Pro Football Focus: RB7
Dane Brugler: RB12
2022 stats: 14 games; 224 rushes for 1,399 yards and 17 TD; 16 receptions for 116 yards
Crossing the goal line: Miller scored at least one rushing touchdown in each of TCU's first 13 games of 2022. The streak was halted in the Fiesta Bowl after he left that College Football Playoff Semifinal with an injury in the first half.
School: Auburn | Year: Junior | Ht: 6-foot-0 | Wt: 210 pounds
Experts' Position Rankings
Daniel Jeremiah: Not Ranked in Top 50 Overall
Bucky Brooks: Not Ranked in Top 5 RB
Mel Kiper, Jr.: RB9
Pro Football Focus: RB6
Dane Brugler: RB6
2022 stats: 12 games; 179 rushes for 970 yards and 10 TD; 30 receptions for 180 yards
Yards after contact: Bigsby's given name is Cartavious, but he earned the nickname "Tank" from the way he got up immediately after running into things as a toddler.
Vikings status of offensive line
The Vikings currently have 11 offensive linemen on their roster, including every starter from last season.
The position is one that has been drafted with a string of high picks since Brian O'Neill's selection in the second round in 2018. Garrett Bradbury followed in the first round of 2019 and re-signed this offseason. After playing left tackle for Boise State, Ezra Cleveland has played right and left guard for Minnesota since his selection in the second round of 2020.
Christian Darrisaw showed more in 2022 of the ability that made him a first-round pick in 2021, and Ed Ingram, who was selected in the second round a year ago, started every game at right guard as a rookie.
The Vikings also have experienced backups in Blake Brandel, Chris Reed, Austin Schlottmann and Olisaemeka Udoh under contract to return, as well as 2022 rookies Vederian Lowe and Josh Sokol.
Experts generally evaluate players projected to be tackles in one grouping and place centers and guards in an interior offensive line category.
View the best photos of the Vikings offensive line during the 2022 season.
Minnesota Vikings vs. Washington Commanders November 06, 2022 FedExField, Landover, Maryland
Expert rankings of players projected as tackles
NFL.com's Daniel Jeremiah currently has five players projected as tackles in his overall Top 50: 8. Peter Skoronski, 15. Darnell Wright, 16. Paris Johnson, Jr., 17. Broderick Jones and 38. Cody Mauch.
ESPN's Mel Kiper, Jr., has three players he's projecting as tackles in his overall Top 25: 14. Johnson, 15. Jones and 16. Wright. Note: Kiper projected Skoronski as his top guard and at No. 8 overall.
Rankings for tackles by Jeremiah, his NFL Media counterpart Bucky Brooks, Kiper, analytics site Pro Football Focus and The Athletic's Dane Brugler are listed below.
Prospects
Note: Heights and weights are from each player's profile on NFL.com (linked for each player's name).
School: Northwestern | Year: Junior | Ht: 6-foot-4 | Wt: 313 pounds
Experts' Position Rankings
Daniel Jeremiah: T1
Bucky Brooks: T1
Mel Kiper, Jr.: G1
Pro Football Focus: T1
Dane Brugler: IOL1
College recap: 33 games, 33 starts; five sacks allowed on 1,210 pass block snaps (according to PFF)
Learning from legacies: Skoronski gained info from former Wildcats tackle Rashawn Slater in 2020, even though the 2021 first-round pick by the Chargers opted out of that season to focus on the NFL Draft. Skoronski's grandfather Bob was a team captain for the Packers and helped Green Bay win five titles in his 11 seasons.
School: Ohio State | Year: Junior | Ht: 6-foot-6 | Wt: 313 pounds
Experts' Position Rankings
Daniel Jeremiah: T3
Bucky Brooks: T2
Mel Kiper, Jr.: T1
Pro Football Focus: T2
Dane Brugler: T2
College recap: 31 games, 26 starts; three sacks allowed on 882 pass block snaps (according to PFF)
Solid foundation: Johnson already established a charity foundation that is "dedicated to empowering and serving disabled veterans and disadvantaged student-athletes with dignity and respect." His efforts, which began in high school, have raised more than $10,000 to serve more than 100 veterans and 350 student-athletes.
School: Georgia | Year: Redshirt Soph.| Ht: 6-foot-5 | Wt: 311 pounds
Experts' Position Rankings
Daniel Jeremiah: T4
Bucky Brooks: T3
Mel Kiper, Jr.: T2
Pro Football Focus: T3
Dane Brugler: DT2
College recap: 32 games, 19 starts; two sacks allowed on 636 pass block snaps (according to PFF)
Highly touted: Jones is used to being in a spotlight. He was a 5-star recruit in high school and was offered a scholarship to Alabama as a freshman, but he opted to stay in his home state.
School: Tennessee | Year: Senior | Ht: 6-foot-5 | Wt: 333 pounds
Experts' Position Rankings
Daniel Jeremiah: T2
Bucky Brooks: T4
Mel Kiper, Jr.: T3
Pro Football Focus: T4
Dane Brugler: T5
College recap: 47 games, 42 starts; 10 sacks allowed on 1,386 pass block snaps (according to PFF)
Impressive start and finish: Wright opened his college career by earning placement on the SEC All-Freshman Team in 2019. He closed it as a member of the All-SEC First Team after not allowing a sack and posting a stingy 1.7 percent allowed pressure rate in 2022.
School: North Dakota State | Year: Redshirt Sr. | Ht: 6-foot-5 | Wt: 302 pounds
Experts' Position Rankings
Daniel Jeremiah: T5
Bucky Brooks: Not Ranked in Top 5 T
Mel Kiper, Jr.: T7
Pro Football Focus: G1
Dane Brugler: Interior Offensive Line2
College recap: 62 games, 39 starts; two sacks allowed on 801 pass block snaps (according to PFF)
9-man to national titles: Mauch played 9-man football in Hankinson, North Dakota, before joining the Bison and redshirting as a walk-on tight end in 2017. He gained 40 pounds in the offseason and shifted to tackle. He was a part of four teams that won FCS titles (2017, 2018, 2019, 2021).
School: Oklahoma | Year: Junior | Ht: 6-foot-4 | Wt: 315 pounds
Experts' Position Rankings
Daniel Jeremiah: Not Ranked in Top 50 Overall
Bucky Brooks: T5
Mel Kiper, Jr.: T4
Pro Football Focus: T5
Dane Brugler: T3
College recap: 34 games, 24 starts; four sacks allowed on 948 pass block snaps (according to PFF)
Early assessment: Brooks wrote Harrison "is a raw player with intriguing tools and talent. The extra-long bookend flashes impressive movement skills in action but needs some skill refinement to become a solid pro starter."
Expert rankings of players projected as interior offensive linemen
Jeremiah currently has four players projected as interior offensive linemen in his overall Top 50: 33. Joe Tippmann, 36. O'Cyrus Torrence, 45. Steve Avila and 48. John Michael Schmitz.
Rankings for interior offensive linemen by Jeremiah, his NFL Media counterpart Bucky Brooks, Kiper, analytics site Pro Football Focus and The Athletic's Dane Brugler are listed below.
Prospects
Note: Heights and weights are from each player's profile on NFL.com (linked for each player's name).
School: Wisconsin | Year: Redshirt Jr. | Ht: 6-foot-6 | Wt: 313 pounds
Experts' Position Rankings
Daniel Jeremiah: IOL1
Bucky Brooks: IOL5
Mel Kiper, Jr.: C2
Pro Football Focus: IOL4
Dane Brugler: IOL4
College recap: 26 games, 23 starts; one sack allowed on 590 pass block snaps (according to PFF)
Strong suit: Named Indiana Mr. Football OL as a senior, Tippmann helped his team win a state title as a senior. He's squatted 635 pounds and benched 455 pounds. NFL.com's Lance Zierlein noted that Tippmann's weight room strength carries over to the playing field in a variety of run schemes.
School: Florida (after Louisiana) | Year: Senior | Ht: 6-foot-5 | Wt: 330 pounds
Experts' Position Rankings
Daniel Jeremiah: IOL2
Bucky Brooks: IOL1
Mel Kiper, Jr.: G2
Pro Football Focus: IOL1
Dane Brugler: IOL3
College recap: 47 games, 47 starts; zero sacks allowed on 1,427 pass block snaps (according to PFF)
One for the ages: After playing three seasons for the Ragin' Cajuns, Torrence transferred to Florida and handled the increased competition well. He garnered First-Team All-America honors from The Associated Press and was named First-Team All-SEC after allowing zero sacks and committing zero penalties. PFF graded his pass blocking at 89.9, which tied for the best among guards in FBS programs.
School: TCU | Year: Redshirt Sr. | Ht: 6-foot-3 ½ | Wt: 332 pounds
Experts' Position Rankings
Daniel Jeremiah: IOL3
Bucky Brooks: IOL2
Mel Kiper, Jr.: G3
Pro Football Focus: IOL2
Dane Brugler: IOL5
College recap: 46 games, 35 starts; four sacks allowed on 1,117 pass block snaps (according to PFF)
Variety: Avila started games at four different offensive line positions (center, right guard, right tackle and left guard) for the Horned Frogs. He settled in nicely at left guard in 2022 when he started all 15 games, served as a team captain and did not allow a sack on 515 pass block snaps.
School: Minnesota | Year: Redshirt Sr. | Ht: 6-foot-3 ½ | Wt: 301 pounds
Experts' Position Rankings
Daniel Jeremiah: IOL4
Bucky Brooks: IOL3
Mel Kiper, Jr.: C1
Pro Football Focus: IOL5
Dane Brugler: IOL6
College recap: 57 games, 35 starts; two sacks allowed on 939 pass block snaps (according to PFF)
Accolades: The former Gopher who first arrived in Dinktytown in 2017 as a redshirt closed his college campaign strong. He garnered a 92.3 offense grade and 92.4 run block grade from PFF to earn First-Team All-America honors from The Associated Press and First-Team All-Big Ten honors.
