Scouting Report-If you enjoy old school head knocking football, Gerhart is your guy. He's got thick legs, broad shoulders and low body fat. Gerhart is a pure power runner. Strong legs, never stops moving, always going forward looking to punish defenders. But he'll trick you with his feet. He's got quick feet and makes really nice cuts at the line. He's got excellent vision, and can find creases in the line. He hits the hole with extreme prejudice. On the downside, Gerhart isn't going to wow anyone with his athleticism, and he's not a home run hitter, but he's a touchdown machine and is a hard worker.
Draft Status-Gerhart is going to be undervalued because he's not going to impress anyone running and jumping in shorts. Teams get all tingly about guys who can break off the 60 yard run, and not the guy who can go 5 yards every time. I suspect Gerhart will end up somewhere in the back half of the 2nd round, worst case early part of the third.
Final Analysis-Gerhart is the kind of player I want on my team. I don't care that he's not going to break off any long runs. He's going to rack up touchdowns, and he's going to move the chains. There are so few backs who can tote the rock 18-20 times a game, but Gerhart can. That's a huge plus to me. Granted that Gerhart isn't going to catch a ton of passes but he can be adequate. He's a good pass blocker so he won't have to come off the field on third downs. The league is infatuated with the guys who create highlight reel plays, but Gerhart is a winner and pounds the football. I want that guy. Yeah, he needs to get his pad level a little better, and with that take care of the football, but he's a quality kid, good character, and has shown he can be a workhorse back. In the NFL he'll certainly have a complementary role and could excel in it.
Reminds me of: :LeRon McClain, RB Baltimore Ravens-McClain has a little more meat his bones, but they are both big bodies and they have that same downhill punishing running style. In 2008, when McClain was featured more, he had great success. Gerhart can be featured and paired with a quicker player, and be much more effective.
