Minnesota Vikings: Top 30 draft picks in franchise history
By Dan Zinski
13. Tim Irwin
Irwin started 181 games at right tackle in thirteen years with the Minnesota Vikings.
The second-best right tackle in team history (apologies to Todd Steussie) was picked 74th overall by the Vikings out of Tennessee in the 1981 draft.
It so happens that 1981 was also the last year of Hall of Famer Ron Yary’s career in Minnesota.
Irwin stepped in as the starter in 1982 and began a run of excellence worthy of the legacy established by Yary.
Though Irwin never made a Pro Bowl team, he played at a high level throughout his career and is probably one of the most underrated of all Vikings players.
And he was durable. Irwin never missed a game from 1982 until 1993, his last year in purple.
The Vikings of today could use some linemen as tough as Tim Irwin.