While it's tempting to romanticize the possibilities of a backfield that includes Brett Favre,Adrian Peterson and LaDainian Tomlinsonor BrianWestbrook,the Vikings would be better offfinding Chester Taylor's replacementin the middle to later rounds of the draft.
There are two reasons for this:
1, Good running backsareeverywhere. Early in the draft. Late in the draft. AFTER the draft. Even Chester himself was a sixth-round pick of the Ravens in 2002.
2, Old running backs, even the great ones, go S-P-L-A-Twhen they hit the wall. Even Humpty Dumpty's pit crew can't put em back together again.( Did someone say Shaun Alexander?)
LT is a Hall of Famer. But he'll be 31 on June 23, and he's coming offa seasonthat included career lows in rushing yards (730), average (3.3),catches (20) and receiving yards (154). Splat.
Westbrook will be 31 on Sept. 2. And while he has experience with Brad Childress andthe Vikings' offense, Westbrook is even less attractive as an option. Heplayed only eight games last year, has had an injury-plagued career and he had multiple concussions last season. Double Splat.
There's an urge to hope that a great running backcan squeezeout another productive year afterhitting the wall. Butit rarely happens. Think Alexander in Washington. Or for you older folks, thinkFranco Harris in Seattle, O.J. Simpson in San Francisco and Earl Campbell in New Orleans, to name a few.
While LT or Westbrookcould be had for a bargain financially, that doesn't account for the potential cost of missing out on a young, talented running backwhilegamblinga roster spot onthe hopes that LT or Westbrook might have one more year left in the tank.I'd rather go withyouth at running back heading into a season thanbe stuckscrambling fordepth at midseasonwhen my31-year-oldgothurt or couldn'tproduce.