Mohamed Ibrahim NFL Draft Profile
Position: Running back
Height: 5’8″
Weight: 203 pounds
School: Minnesota
2023 NFL Draft: Mohamed Ibrahim Scouting Report
From the jump, it was apparent that Mohamed Ibrahim was a force to be reckoned with at Minnesota. In his first career game, Ibrahim ran the ball nine times for 101 yards. From then on, the Golden Gophers knew they had a special talent and gave him the reigns. As a freshman, Ibrahim ran the ball over 200 times for 1,160 yards and nine touchdowns. He recorded over 100 yards five times, including a 224-yard performance in the Quick Lane Bowl. He scored multiple times on three occasions.
The pressure was on and he took a step back as a sophomore in 2019. He had to share time with Rodney Smith and ended up managing just 604 yards and seven touchdowns, only eclipsing 100 yards once. 2020 rolls around and nobody knew if the Big Ten was even going to play football. When the truncated schedule was announced, Ibrahim took advantage. In just seven games, Ibrahim rushed for 1,076 yards and 15 touchdowns, earning First-Team All-Big Ten honors.
It looked like he was going to have another elite year in 2021. In his game in the opener against Ohio State, Ibrahim was gashing the Buckeyes defense left and right, amassing 163 yards and a pair of scores. But his season came to an end there as he tore his Achilles. If not for his injury, Minnesota would have won that game, notching their first victory over Ohio State since 2000.
Back and healthy, Ibrahim had his best season last year. On 320 carries, Ibrahim went off for 1,665 yards (third-most in FBS) and 20 touchdowns (tied for most in FBS). Only twice did he fail to reach 100 yards. Plus, he was held out of the end zone just once.
All in all, Ibrahim earned a Third-Team All-American (2020) and two First-Team All-Big Ten honors (2020, 2022). He finished his career with 4,668 yards and 53 touchdowns on the ground, each is the best in Minnesota history.
Strengths
- Patient but decisive when running
- Incredibly difficult to tackle
- Underrated and under-utilized receiving ability
- Adept at pass-blocking
- Will get you that extra yard or two
- Near-elite acceleration
Weaknesses
- No elite speed
- There are some significant injury concerns
- 867 career attempts; how much tread is left on the tires?
- Not a great athlete
- Will be 25 in the fall
NFL Comparison: A shorter Carlos Hyde
Team Fits: Baltimore Ravens, Cincinnati Bengals, Cleveland Browns, Jacksonville Jaguars, Dallas Cowboys, Los Angeles Chargers, Kansas City Chiefs, Tennessee Titans
Projection: 6th Round
Bottom Line on Mohamed Ibrahim
The “running backs don’t matter” crowd will like Ibrahim because he is exactly who you could see stepping in an Isiah Pacheco-type of breakout next year. Given, Pacheco is a significantly better athlete. However, if given the chance, Ibrahim can carry a team…literally.
One of the greatest strengths of Ibrahim’s game is his strength. Defenders cannot bring him down with arm tackles. He is very good at keeping his balance and getting those extra yards after contact. While he may not have incredible breakaway speed, he can still scoot and is deceptively shifty.
There are plenty of injury concerns, of course. He missed at least one game due to injury every year but last. Plus, that Achilles injury is historically near-impossible to truly recover from. It’s obvious that rushing for 1,600+ yards and 20 touchdowns in an offense that relied on him shows he’s fully healthy, how long can it last?
He’s going to be an older rookie, so it’s likely that he will be a late-day-three pick. The point of the draft where fans have it on in the background while scrolling on Twitter, only looking up when they hear that iconic sound.
The NFL team that elects to take a flier on Ibrahim is getting a leader and an all-around dude. He’s going to fight for that roster spot, he’s going to fight for those touches, and he will fight for every last yard.
Main Image: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
