Vikings Training Camp 2012: Jordan Todman Getting Buzz

The first week of camp is all about picking bandwagons to jump on. Lots of people two years ago jumped on Jaymar Johnson but that didn’t work out so hot. What under-the-radar guy is getting the possibly silly early Jaymar Johnson buzz this year? Seems like Jordan Todman is the main guy so far. The second-year running back out of Connecticut by way of the San Diego Chargers, who picked him in the sixth round last year, has been singled out for mention by several camp observers including the ever-objective Mike Wobschall of Vikings.com. Wobby said of Todman:

"RB Jordan Todman flashed his greatest asset – speed – during the second-to-last team period of practice. Todman took a handoff that appeared to be designed to go inside and bounced out wide left. Todman gained the edge on the defense and raced down the left sideline for what would’ve been a TD run of at least 65 yards."

Normally I would totally ignore such an early camp report but I think in Todman’s case a little attention is warranted. Three reasons: 1) Todman is small and fast, which makes him a good candidate as a change-of-pace back in the third spot behind Adrian Peterson and Toby Gerhart (just don’t compare him to Darren Sproles unless you want Charger fans to call you stupid). 2) There’s no clear-cut favorite for that #3 RB spot so Todman has a legit shot to make the team. 3) With Adrian possibly missing the first few games or at least having his carries limited, whoever wins the #3 RB spot is going to actually be called upon to contribute. So that person could have an actual impact on games. And that makes the competition between Todman, Lex Hilliard and whoever else is in the mix at RB more intriguing than it normally would be.

So we’ll keep our eye on speedy Mr. Todman. Hopefully he won’t go the way of Jaymar Johnson.

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