9. Toby Gerhart, RB
Second round, 51st overall
(2010)
During his senior season at Stanford, Gerhart established himself as one of the best running backs in college football when he finished the year with 2,028 total yards and 28 touchdowns. It was enough to convince Minnesota to trade their second and third-round picks in the 2010 draft to move up and select the running back in the second round.
The Vikings were in need of a backup to Adrian Peterson since Chester Taylor was lost in free agency to the Chicago Bears. So Minnesota opted to take a chance on Gerhart in 2010.
During his four years with the Vikings, he averaged just over 30 total yards per game and rushed for over 100 yards in a single game just once. Definitely not the kind of production Minnesota was hoping for when they traded up in the 2010 draft to select him.
It was just a puzzling pick by the Vikings since the team already had a power running back in Peterson and would have been better off drafting a back that would add a different element to their offense. Instead, Minnesota fell in love with Gerhart’s production in college and could not resist.
Notable players drafted after Gerhart:
Sean Lee (Dal), Golden Tate (Sea), Jimmy Graham (NO)