Everyone on the planet knows that Adrian Peterson is the best pure running back in the league, let alone on the Minnesota Vikings’ roster, but what about the unsung hero, who had one full season as the primary back before being, once again, thrust into the third down role?

Chester Taylor - Underutilized?

Chester Taylor, the former Baltimore Raven and backup to Jamal Lewis came to the Vikings in 2006 for a chance to be the starting running back. The Vikings’ faithful were ecstatic to see a leader in the running game finally emerge after going through a few years of “running back by committee” with guys who were not quite good enough, or too injury prone to last a full season (see: Bennett, Michael). Taylor, as previously stated, was a very good backup to Jamal Lewis when he was a Raven his from 2002 to 2005, but the Vikings thought him good enough to deserve a starting spot, and for one season, they were right on.

While in Baltimore, Taylor’s carries went as follows for his tenure in Baltimore – 33, 63, 160, and 117. So, aside from the 2004 season, he was definitely a backup most of the time, getting sporadic carries on third down or in a relief role, and he did it very well. His rookie year, he averaged 3.7 yards, which isn’t too bad considering he only touched it so few times. In 2003, he jumped to 4.4 yards a carry, a steady improvement. In the 2004 season, his best as a Raven by far, he averaged 4.5 yards a carry and ended the year with 714 yards. His final year with the Ravens was, again, more of a backup/third down role, his average down to 4.2 again. Based on those years, the Vikings thought they saw a great running back relegated to a role that he didn’t really belong. So they made a move when his contract expired.

In the 2006 season, Chester Taylor ran for 1,216 yards on 303 carries – that’s an average of four yards a touch. He also caught 42 passes for 288 yards. I know I, for one, was amazed at the change from our usually pass happy attack to a more focused running game, and the success had by it. Our coaches and personnel people were right; Chester Taylor was a certified starting running back in the National Football League. He kept that average he had in Baltimore over the course of a full year, with a full 143 more carries than his most in Baltimore. The Minnesota Vikings looked to have a steady running back for years to come.

The Vikings have two starting RBs on the roster

Cue the 2007 NFL Draft. As Roger Goodell sauntered to the stage, Vikings’ fans waited, holding their collective breathes. Would the Vikings take the injury prone, but insanely talented Adrian Peterson? Or would they go with the suave, muscular quarterback out of Notre Dame, Brady Quinn? While the Vikings arguably needed a QB more than a running back, the prospect of Peterson could be too much to handle. With the seventh pick, the Vikings select Adrian Peterson, running back, Oklahoma.

Immediately, things changed.

I don’t have to tell you how good the kid is; he’s amazing. He’s stellar. He’s just finished his second year and we already know he’s practically guaranteed a bust in Canton someday. He’s that good.

But what about Chester Taylor? Talk about bad luck.

While he officially remained the starter for a good portion of the games for the 2007 season, Adrian Peterson got the bulk of the carries, and rightly so. Peterson is a freak of nature. Chester Taylor is a work horse. Not to take anything away from the other, but they are very different running backs. Peterson is a seemingly boom or bust type of back; you get the huge runs, and the one yarders. Chester seems more of the steady, four yards, three yards, six yards, with an occasional big busted run. While they are both great backs, the big play ability of Peterson and his amazing speed and elusiveness make him the better overall prospect; you can learn to get those average runs when the defense gives them to you (of course, the defense has been stacking the box enormously, but that’s an issue for another day).

So yes, Peterson is the better back. But is Chester Taylor being used enough with the Vikings? In 2007, Taylor had 157 carries for 844 yards – that’s an impressive 5.4 yards-per-carry average. I’d say, he got a very good number of carries that year, but that was mainly because Peterson was hurt for three or four games throughout the season. If you take into account his receptions, in regular games, backing up Adrian Peterson, he got between six and 12 touches a game. Is that enough for Chester?

Here is a breakdown of his touches for the 2007 season, in a “regular” game with Peterson as the starter (I’m disregarding weeks 11 and 12 against Oakland and the New York Giants, as Peterson was not playing):

4, 0, 0, 9, bye, 22, 13, 7, 11, 5, 16, 11, 6, 11, 13

Looking at 2008, he got even fewer carries, but his average per game actually went up. In 2008 he had 101 carries for 399 yards – an average of four yards a carry. His receptions and average carries per game actually seemed to have gone up this year, again, in games where Peterson is starting, and Chester is a third down type of back. His touches, both carries and receptions, from week one through 17 are as follows:

8, 5, 14, 1, 5, 8, 8, 18, bye, 10, 14, 7, 11, 14, 8, 14, 6, and 5.

Comparing the number of touches in a “regular” game, they are actually quite comparable. That’s an average of 9.16 touches per game, both carries and receptions a game, in the regular season.

The Work Horse

Looking at his game by game stats, there doesn’t really seem to be any correlation between Chester Taylor’s carries and wins and losses. Some games he has 10 touches and the Vikings lose; other times he has three and the Vikings win. Does that mean he’s getting too many touches? Or not enough? Or is it just right?

I think the Vikings would benefit from having Chester Taylor touch the ball 10 to 15 times a game, through carries and receptions; the key ingredient is to mix it up. Don’t have Peterson play every first and second down; throw Taylor in there on first down every once in awhile and let him run it. Put Peterson in on third down and toss a screen his way. And for the love of all that his holy, put both of them on the field at the same time! With defenses focusing on Peterson, Taylor has so many opportunities for big gains, and the Vikings have many opportunities to make defenses work harder to decipher what’s going on. As it is now, Peterson will only run the ball on first and second down, and on third down Chester Taylor is brought in to help pass protect, to run a draw, or to take a screen. It seems very rare that Taylor lines up in the backfield and runs the ball. The Vikings basically have two starting RBs on the roster; how could they not benefit by spreading the touches more?

Plus, giving the ball to Chester more gives Peterson more time to rest; he can’t handle carrying the ball 360 times every year. He’ll wear out much faster than he should. Let Taylor run it eight to 10 times, and get him three to four receptions a game. In my opinion, that will open up so much more for the Vikings offense.

So, is Chester Taylor underutilized? I think so, but if the Vikings can fix that problem, a whole lot more options will present themselves.

Unappreciated? Definitely not by me.