New Jaguars RB’ Toby Gerhart Impressive Thus Far

When the Minnesota Vikings selected former Stanford running back Toby Gerhart in the second round of the 2010 NFL draft, the thought process was to team him up with Adrian Peterson and form a physically dominationg duo in the backfield. 

That didn’t necessarily happen, as Gerhart only saw extensive playing time when Peterson went down with injury. Such is the case when you are backing up one of the top-five running backs in the history of the game. He was still able to rack up nearly 2,000 total yards and eight scores on 355 touches over four seasons with Minnesota.

Once Gerhart hit free agency, it was his opportunity to find a team that would give him more touches. In this, Gerhart signed with a Jacksonville Jaguars club that was looking to replace veteran Maurice Jones-Drew, who departed for the Oakland Raiders. Thus far, the reports out of Jaguars camp this offseason have been impressive.

Without much competition for the starting gig, it’s easy to expect Gerhart to find himself with an important role for the Jaguars once Week 1 rolls around. He’s a down-hill, between the tackles runner who can dominate at the point of initial contact. He will get that tough yard or two on third down and has a deceptive ability to turn the corner.

This should be able to help whoever is under center for the Jaguars as the 2014 season draws near. If it is rookie Blake Bortles, you can definitely expect Gerhart to be his best friend.

From a fantasy perspective, Gerhart is a buy-low RB1 option. He has the talent and will be given the opportunity in an offense that should be a run-first attack. That leaves Gerhart in the position to dominate the fantasy landscape from the mid rounds.

Photo: USA Today