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RB Chester Taylor, Minnesota Vikings

HT: 5-11, WT: 213, Born: 9-22-1979, College: Toledo, Drafted: Round 6

2008 Projections

2007 Game Summaries

Week 1 - Taylor started the game and appeared to be the focus of the offense early on. He tallied two targets, and three carries in the Vikings' first drive. Adrian Peterson was in the game for the Vikings' second drive, and Chester Taylor came back into the game to spell Peterson. However, Taylor was injured when he appeared to have been kicked by one of his offensive lineman on a screen pass. He did not return to the game and finished with 18 yards rushing and one three yard reception.

Week 4 - Taylor was the official starting running back for the game, but Adrian Peterson was the focus of the offense. Taylor had 8 carries on the game, but had success on just two of them. One was a five yard gain, and the other went for 37 yards. Outside of those two carries, he had six carries for negative two yards. He was targeted four times, but only managed one 11 yard reception.

Week 6 - Taylor was not utilized in the passing game as he often found himself staying back to protect their young quarterback. While he did not put up the huge numbers of his teammate, Taylor still averaged 3.8 yards per carry and wore down the Bears defense, though he did lose one fumble.

Week 7 - Taylor again was the starter for the Vikings, but had fewer carries than did Adrian Peterson. Taylor finished with ten carries and added three receptions. However, his touch total was hurt by the Vikings inability to maintain ball control. He finished with 4.7 yards per carry.

Week 8 - Taylor saw his role reduced greatly this week. Instead of sharing the feature role with Adrian Peterson, Taylor was definitely the change of pace back against the Eagles. His opportunities were limited to third downs, and spelling Peterson when needed.

Week 9 - Lost in the madness of Adrian Peterson's record-setting performance is the fact that Taylor quietly piled up 60 yards of his own on just nine carries (and a touchdown). He even busted a very Peterson-esque 34 yard scamper up the left side late in the game to pad the stats a bit. Of course, it wasn't all positive for Taylor as he fumbled near the goal line one play after being taken down at the three. But he did manage to find the end zone for the first time this season, so that made up for the fumble. As usual, Taylor came in the game when Peterson needed a rest or on third down passing situations.

Week 10 - Taylor was limited exclusively to the third down role until Adrian Peterson left the game due to injury. He did have the biggest play of the day for the Vikings with a 50 yard screen pass in the fourth quarter, and finished with 96 total yards. He also had the Vikings longest run of the game with a 23 yard scamper.

Week 11 - Taylor got going quickly in this contest, as his first run of the game went for a ten yard score. His second touchdown came from 38 yards out. On the play Taylor took the handoff to the right and after getting through the hole, he cut back to his left and headed for the goal line. On his final score of the game, Taylor jumped from the Oakland six yard line into the mass of offensive and defensive lineman and then charged his way into the end zone while within the scrum. He did have a second quarter fumble that gave the Raiders the ball at the Vikings' fourteen yard line.

Week 12 - Taylor got the start for the injured Adrian Peterson for the second straight week, but did not find as many holes to run through as he did against Oakland. He finished with just under 2.5 yards per carry, but had enough chances to rack up 77 yards. His longest run of the day was just 13 yards, and the vast majority of his carries were the three yard and a cloud of dust variety. He also added 12 yards on two receptions.

Week 13 - Taylor was the second option in the Vikings running attack with the return of Adrian Peterson. He did have a nice fantasy day, thanks in large part to the Vikings building an early lead. Peterson did not appear significantly in the second half, and Taylor was the primary ball carrier grinding out the victory. Taylor also scored the Vikings first touchdown two plays after replacing Peterson due to a long Peterson run.

Week 14 - Taylor got the official start of the game, being in on the first series. Taylor also had more success running the ball than did Adrian Peterson, but most of his success came on just one play. On a running play to the left, Taylor had a nice hole he burst through, made one player miss near the sideline, than raced up the sideline stiff-arming two players en route to the end zone 84 yards later. The remaining of his other 7 carries went for just 16 more yards.

Week 15 - Taylor took a back seat to Peterson in this game. He ran hard, was somewhat involved in the passing game, and averaged six plus yards per carry. But it's hard to rack up big numbers when you only get six touches, and that's all Taylor got.

Week 16 - Taylor did not do much on the ground, as he was only able to gain 14 yards on six carries. He did catch five passes for 42 yards, reeling in every throw tossed his way.

Week 17 - Taylor started the game and dominated on the first drive. Unfortunately, the first drive ended with Taylor diving for the end zone pylon, but dropping the ball on the pylon which resulted in a touchback. After the first drive, Taylor played sparingly other than on third downs. He did look good when he carried ball, though he did have one more fumble.