The 2025 NFL Draft is not too far in the rearview mirror, and the 2026 NFL Draft is still 11 months away, but that's not stopping numerous outlets, including Pro Football Focus, from releasing their early draft boards for 2026.

Among the top-200 prospects ranked by Pro Football Focus in their initial draft board is one Golden Gopher, running back Darius Taylor.

Taylor comes in at No. 81 on PFF's rankings which also makes him the sixth ranked running back who is draft eligible next April. Ahead of Taylor is Notre Dame's Jeremiyah Love (No. 7), Penn State's Nicholas Singleton (No. 45) and Kaytron Allen (No. 77) as well as Washington's Jonah Coleman (No. 46), and Tulane's Makhi Hughes (No. 51).

Taylor the last two seasons was ranked as the 40th and 64th running back in the country according to Pro Football Focus's grading system with an 87.4 rating in 2023 and an 82.5 rating in 2024.

Throughout Taylor's first two seasons with Minnesota, he has amassed 1,785 rushing yards on 343 carries while also finding the endzone 15 times. He has also emerged as a legitimate receiving threat out of the backfield with 65 career receptions for 442 yards and two touchdowns.

He is just one of six Big Ten running backs to amass over 2,000 yards from scrimmage over the past two seasons, joining Kyle Monangai (Rutgers), Nicholas Singleton (Penn State), TreVeyon Henderson (Ohio State), Kaytron Allen (Penn State), and Kaleb Johnson (Iowa).

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