Toby Gerhart is Pretty Fly...For a White Guy

Pick the best running back out of the three below based on stats, combine results and college highlights.

Running back #1
5’10” 217lbs
40yd dash: 4.55secs
Vertical Jump: 35.5”
Bench Press: 25 times
College Highlights: Rushed for 1,400yds and 16tds his last sophomore season and led his team to a 10-3 record.

Running back #2
5’11” 227lbs
40yd dash: 4.62secs
Vertical Jump: 37”
Bench Press: 19 times
College Highlights: Rushed for 1850yds, 20tds and led his team to a 9-4 record. Winner of the Doak Walker award.

Running Back #3
6’1” 235lbs
40yd dash: 4.53 secs
Vertical Jump: 38”
Bench Press: 22 times
College Highlights: Rushed for 1736yds and 26tds his senior season and led his team to an 8-5 record. Heisman finalist and Doak Walker award winner.

It’s a tough decision. These three are very similar in almost all aspects. Who did you pick? Running back #1? That was Denver's Knowshon Moreno. How about running back #2? That’s the Jets Shonn Greene. Or did you pick #3? Stanford’s Toby Gerhart.

All three of these running backs are studs, but one thing is different...Toby Gerhart isn’t a first round pick. But why? Moreno was a first rounder and even though Greene was a third round pick, he was viewed much more highly than Gerhart is being viewed right now. And, their stats and combine results are comparable to Toby’s.

Do NFL teams actually have a problem drafting a white running back in the first round? I've heard some sports radio shock-jocks, *cough*-Valenti-*cough*, say that NFL teams are just cautious about taking a white running back with their first round pick. I don't think this is the case. In fact, there will probably only be 1 running back drafted in the first round of this year’s draft(C.J. Spiller). This year’s crop of NFL rookies is top heavy with offensive and defensive lineman. I do like Gerhart's running style a lot. More running backs need to run downhill like Gerhart did at Stanford. I think he will be a solid NFL running back and wouldn't mind seeing him on the Lions.

But of course, we all know who the next great white running back is going to be...

No...wait a minute...I lied.

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