Vikings have not decided on Gerhart’s potential role

Although most people expect the Minnesota Vikings to use newly drafted rookie running back Toby Gerhart as backup to starter Adrian Peterson, simply the role LaDainian Tomlinson would have played if he signed with the Vikings. However, as the team still has other choices on roster, it’s just still too early to confirm Gerhart’s possible role.

Since former backup Chester Taylor signed with the Chicago Bears during free agency, the Vikings head coach Brad Childress has shown his confidence in Albert Young and Darius Reynaud. The addition of Toby Gerhart simply added one more choice for the team to pick a better backup. Gerhart’s advantages are his hands. He used to win a Heisman Trophy last season with a nation-best performance of 1,871 rushing yards and 28 touchdowns. His disadvantage is that he did not catch large number of passes but that was majorly because he was not used that much to catch passes. If he is to given the playing time, Gerhart is expected to have more catches.

As the Vikings traded third-round picks in order to have the right of picking Gerhart from the second-round, it seems that Vikings do hold high expectation on the rookie. So even if he is not going to play at secondary position, he could still expect a brilliant career in purple and gold Vikings jersey.