If you think Caleb King will jack Toby Gerhart?s second-string running back job, you?re a joker. The Minnesota Vikings know they?re not getting an instant-stud with King; after all, he went undrafted in the supplemental draft. Still, the now former Georgia Bulldog could find the field for the Vikings in year one.
King was extremely hyped up coming out of high school. CBS even dared to compare him to Georgia legend Herschel Walker. Rivals.com rated him the eighth best running back in the nation and wrote in his scouting report:
?King is an ankle-breaker with his tremendous start-stop and cutting ability. He?s physical enough to make a living between the tackles, but his speed allows him to bounce things outside and be effective on sweeps...He?s an every-down back for sure at the next level...?
Yeah, it?s safe to say he failed to live up to expectations.
If King couldn?t win the starting job at Georgia, he won?t be able to unseat Gerhart as Adrian Peterson?s backup. The former Stanford back rushed for 322 yards on 4.0 yards a pop in 2010. Last season for the Bulldogs, King only rushed for 430 yards, but he did so on 5.4 yards a carry.
King may be able to win the role of a third down back though. He is a very solid pass blocker with reliable hands coming out of the backfield. At 5?11?, 217 pounds, King has good size along with plenty of athletic ability.
Obviously Peterson is going to carry the workload, but when he?s gassed, the Vikings now have two capable backs to fulfill different roles. Gerhart can enter the game on first, second and third down and short situations while King takes third and long. Minnesota missed out on their ideal third-down back when Kentucky?s Derrick Locke failed his physical earlier this offseason, but King is a quality plan B.
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