2023 NFL mock draft: Minnesota Vikings select Myles Murphy

The Minnesota Vikings are up in our 2023 Pride of Detroit Community Mock Draft, where commenters get to act as general managers for individual teams. The Vikings have had a quiet offseason after their early exit in the playoffs. A common candidate for huge regression in 2023, it will be up to commenter Erwin_NCL to turn things around in Minnesota’s only real chance to improve their roster this offseason.

Before we get into Erwin’s pick, catch up on the previous 22 picks in this mock draft by heading to our 2023 POD Community Mock Tracker, which not only has all of those picks, but links to each individual article and grades—as voted by you—for each pick.

Without further ado, with the 23rd pick in the POD Community Mock Draft, the Minnesota Vikings have selected Myles Murphy, edge defender out of Clemson.

Here’s Erwin_NCL explaining the pick:

“It’s been generally accepted that the Vikings’ biggest needs are at wide receiver and in the secondary. Adam Thielen is gone, so are Cameron Dantzler and Patrick Peterson, and besides Byron Murphy, not a lot was signed.

“There were good options at those positions, like Jordan Addison from USC at WR, Deonte Banks from Maryland at cornerback, and Brian Branch from Alabama at safety. But two factors made me change course: you don’t draft for the short-term only, and there are promising young players at those positions.

“It’s tough to depend on the health of Andrew Booth Jr., but, when available, he will make a great pairing with Byron Murphy. Lewis Cine was drafted in the first round last year. Jalen Nailor showed some promise at the end of the season. Sure, they are still needs, but we have deep classes and we could bring some talent to compete at later rounds.

“At EDGE, though, we have Danielle Hunter, one year of Marcus Davenport and maaaaaybe Za’Darius Smith. Some mid-rounders in DJ Wonnum and Patrick Jones II, sure, but we could get an injection of talent, and the name of Myles Murphy stuck out a lot. A bag of tools and traits, being able to have this guy as understudy to Hunter and part of the rotation is a tantalizing prospect.

“Beyond that, analytics say the positions most likely to generate surplus value in the first round are quarterback, wide receiver and edge rusher. Solving a long-term need with a high-ceiling prospect in a premium position is the best course of action here, so the pick is Myles Murphy, from Clemson.”

What do you all think of the pick? Grade Erwin_NCL’s choice in the poll below and give your feedback in the comment section at the bottom of the page.