by Nick Wershing

With the top two picks in tomorrow’s NFL draft locked up, the only thing anyone seems sure of is that there are only three elite players left: USC Tackle Matt Kalil, LSU Corner Morris Claiborne, and Alabama Running Back Trent Richardson. Most experts expect the Vikings to take either Morris Claiborne or Matt Kalil with the third overall pick. This brings us to the Browns. Supposing the Browns don’t trade out, and the Vikings go with Kalil, they seem to have three options: they can go with another of the elite players in Richardson, they can bring in the top weapon in the draft in Oklahoma State’s Justin Blackmon to help Colt McCoy, or they can bring in a new quarterback in A&M’s Ryan Tannehill.

Richardson is the hot pick for experts right now, seeing as he is touted as the best back since Adrian Peterson. If Richardson can be anything like Peterson, this pick is a home run. Richardson clearly has the ability to run both between the tackles and bounce it outside, but what makes him more dynamic are his ability to catch the ball out of the backfield and his willingness to stay in the backfield and block. Richardson is a do-it-all back. There are only a handful of teams at this spot that would not take Richardson. If the Vikings did not have Peterson, they would be taking Richardson one spot earlier. So why is Richardson not a lock here? Well, let’s look into this further… Continue reading →