Vikings Select UAB RB DeWayne McBride in Seventh Round

The Vikings selected UAB running back DeWayne "Debo" McBride with their seventh-round pick (No. 222 overall) in the 2023 NFL Draft. It's their final pick of the weekend, barring an unexpected trade.

McBride had an extremely productive career for the Blazers of Conference USA. Last season, he ran for 1,713 yards and 19 touchdowns, averaging 7.4 yards per carry and earning a 94.1 grade from Pro Football Focus. 1,072 of his yards came after contact. As a sophomore in 2021, McBride ran for 1,116 yards and 12 touchdowns on 6.9 yards per carry.

As a true runner, McBride was among the better RBs in this class and could be a steal in the seventh round. He has a remarkable combination of contact balance, vision, and toughness, making him an efficient ballcarrier between the tackles. McBride has good lateral agility to find holes and is tough to bring down. He's not an explosive athlete with eye-popping long speed, but he did have eight carries of at least 45 yards last season.

If Dalvin Cook is traded — which remains the expectation, given his contract — McBride should compete with Ty Chandler and Kene Nwangwu for reps behind Alexander Mattison. It's not too difficult to envision McBride making the Vikings' roster and seeing the field in 2023, similar to Chiefs RB Isaiah Pacheco, a seventh-round pick last year.

DeWayne McBride has a legit chance to make a real impact for the #Vikings this year if Dalvin Cook is traded.

Highly productive college RB with great contact balance, vision, and toughness. pic.twitter.com/iJMM3ipHVS
— Will Ragatz (@WillRagatz) April 29, 2023

McBride isn't a receiving threat; he had a grand total of five catches for 29 yards in college. He also has a major fumbling issue, losing the ball nine times over the past two seasons. That needs to be cleaned up at the next level. And McBride's burst and top speed are merely average.

Outside of that, there's a lot to like about the 5'10", 209-pound UAB product's game.

Here's the scouting report from The Athletic's Dane Brugler, who gave McBride a fourth-round grade:

With his compact build and shifty feet, McBride absorbs contact well with knee-bend and toughness to quickly regain his balance (his 4.6 yards post-contact ranked No. 1 in the FBS in 2022). Though he has instinctive run qualities, his lower body and eyes aren’t always synced up, and his ordinary burst and long speed will be more noticeable vs. NFL defenses. Overall, McBride is unproven as a pass catcher and blocker, which might restrict his NFL role, but his contact balance, vision and lateral agility are among the best this running back draft class has to offer. He projects best in a zone scheme.

Here's the Vikings' full 2023 draft class:

Round 1, Pick 23: USC WR Jordan Addison
Round 3, Pick 102 (via SF): USC CB Mekhi Blackmon
Round 4, Pick 134 (via KC): LSU S/CB Jay Ward
Round 5, Pick 141 (via IND): LSU DT Jaquelin Roy
Round 5, Pick 164 (via SF): BYU QB Jaren Hall
Round 7, Pick 222 (via SF): UAB RB DeWayne McBride

Next, the Vikings will put together their UDFA class.

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