RB Adrian Peterson, Minnesota Vikings

HT: 6-0, WT: 220, Born: 3-21-1985, College: Oklahoma, Drafted: Round 1, Pick 7

2013 Projections

Average draft position

Current as of June 11th. [Full ADP list]

Overall: Adrian Peterson (1), A Foster (2), D Martin (3)
Position: Adrian Peterson (1 - RB1), A Foster (2-RB2), D Martin (3-RB3)
Click here for a comparison of these players.

PPR Average draft position

Current as of June 11th. [Full PPR ADP list]

Overall: Adrian Peterson (1), A Foster (2), D Martin (3)
Position: Adrian Peterson (1 - RB1), A Foster (2-RB2), D Martin (3-RB3)
Click here for a comparison of these players.

Best Case

Without a major rehab, Peterson begins the season in top physical condition. The passing game improves with Greg Jennings and Cordarrelle Patterson, preventing defenses from loading up against Peterson. ADP runs wild right from game 1, repeating his 2000 yard rushing season and proving why he is still one of the best options at running back in fantasy football.

Worst Case

Six seasons and nearly 2000 touches from scrimmage finally start to slow Peterson down a bit. 2012 proved that he's in great physical shape, but even ADP can't outrun father time forever. His performance falls back to earth, and the mountain of expectation that he set last season leads to 'disappointment' from a fantasy prospective. Even then he'll still finish in the top five for fantasy running backs, and he'll be well worth the high first round pick it will take to get him this season, even if the owner doesn't feel like it was.

Outlook

Despite having major knee surgery during the off season, Peterson returned back and feel just short of the single season rushing record, posting 2300 yards from scrimmage and 13 touchdowns. It will be difficult for him to repeat those stats again this season, but the reality is that if anyone can do it, Peterson can. He's already defied the odds and come back strong than ever. If the passing game can keep defenses from stacking the box next season, there's no telling what Peterson can do.

Latest News

Vikings | Adrian Peterson's absence no concern (Wed Jun 19, 09:57 PM) - Minnesota Vikings RB Adrian Peterson (hernia) sat out during the minicamp practice Wednesday, June 19, but it was part of his regularly scheduled rest, and not related to his offseason sports hernia surgery.

link to story   

2013 Schedule

2012 Game Summaries

Week 1 - Remember all that worrying about Peterson coming back too soon, much less at all? Yeah, you can bury those. While Peterson isn’t quote 100%, his 80% is better than most backs’ 100%. There was no hesitation to his game, he ran decisive, cut well and literally jumped over defenders for the touchdown. We watched him make some very quick and abrupt cuts which seemed to hold no ill effect for him. He also carried the full load for the team and as of Monday was not dealing with any swelling or issues with the knee.

Week 2 - Peterson didn’t have as good a week as he did against the Jacksonville Jaguars, but still looked pretty good running the ball. The Colts were determined to stop Peterson up though and make Christian Ponder beat them, both of which were goals they achieved. While the output was disappointing, Peterson will have more good games than bad and will have to be relied upon against San Francisco next week if the Vikings have any hope of winning.

Week 3 - The running game for Minnesota was consistently positive. Rarely was Peterson hit in the backfield, and though his final line of 86 yards and no touchdowns on 25 attempts isn’t staggering by any means, his ability to get 3 or 4 yards on every carry against a swarming San Francisco run defense allowed the passing game to stay in rhythm. The blocking of the offensive line was average to good throughout the day, but even when holes opened the 49ers were able to fill them. That didn’t deter Peterson, who displayed both the power and cutback ability that made him such a dangerous running back before his injury. Peterson was also a valuable checkdown target on two separate plays, resulting in 2 receptions for 21 yards and 2 first downs. When the Vikings were near the goal line he was fed the ball numerous times, but with the 49ers keying on him Peterson wasn’t able to find the end zone. However, that presence did allow Ponder to execute play action twice in the red zone for touchdowns. His one mistake on the day was a fumble while trying to extend for the first down. Peterson extended the ball and allowed Justin Smith to tear it from his hand. Luckily for Peterson, Harvin was quick enough to recover.

Week 4 - If you were still waiting for an official proclamation, here it is: Peterson is officially ‘back’. He looked every bit the player he has in the past, showing some wonderful burst and explosion through the hole, fantastic strength and determination as well as the vision and instincts which were evident from week one. Peterson did a great job of getting yards even when he was hit early. To date, Peterson had been averaging 2.4 yards after contact. On Sunday, his average jumped up to 3.76. Part of that was fantastic blocking by the line, but a lot of it was Peterson who showed very strong legs fighting for yards. As the day wore on, the Lions looked more and more gassed, as the San Francisco 49ers did last week when they got the full dose of Adrian Peterson. The Vikings came to play a physical game the second week in a row and the key was once again an onslaught of Peterson wearing the defense down. One of his best runs came in the second quarter where he showed tremendous burst to get through the hole, slipped two tackles and then outraced a defender to the edge. If he had been able to make one more move, he would have been gone, but ran out of room along the sideline.

Week 5 - Peterson reportedly tweaked his ankle early in the contest against the Titans although you wouldn't know it by watching him. He ran with power all day after a slow start and totaled 103 yards. Peterson did lose a goal-line carry to Percy Harvin but otherwise was the model of production against the porous Tennessee offense. His best carry came on a 34 yard run that saw him bounce outside to the right and accelerate through the flat-footed Tennessee linebacker corps before being taken down 34 yards later. Peterson looks very quick getting to the line after receiving the ball and his surgically repaired knee continues to show no ill-effects on inside runs. He also appears to be doling out punishment to defenders regularly by lowering his shoulder and powering forward for extra yards on most of his carries. Peterson also had three short catches on designed screens.

Week 6 - We keep thinking we’ve seen everything we can from Peterson, and then he shows us another wrinkle we weren’t looking for. Sunday’s word was ‘elusive’ as several times Peterson avoided tackles for a loss or no gain and turned them into positive yards. His second carry—a 32 yard run—was an amazing example of this. Peterson took the handoff from quarterback Christian Ponder and went to a gap on the left side of the line. However, the hole was quickly plugged and it appeared Peterson was going to be stopped for one or two yards at most. Suddenly, Peterson emerged from the pile, still on his feet. It was like he teleported to the spot—one second he’s not there, the next he is. Peterson then headed for the sideline, broke a tackle and galloped for 32 yards. He might have gone further but he out-ran his blockers by a fair margin. On the very next play, Peterson showed great balance and agility as he took the ball up the gut, then bounced it to his right when there was nothing there. He shed a tackle, used his left hand to stay standing and fought his way to a five yard gain. Peterson was also targeted frequently in the passing game to great effect. On the down side, Peterson is not scoring touchdowns, but it’s not his fault. For some reason, even when Peterson is crushing a team (as he was on that first drive), offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave overthinks things and you get too many passes into too much coverage. Physically, Adrian Peterson is fine. Schematically, we might need to be worried.

Week 7 - The entirety of the Minnesota offense lay on the back of Adrian Peterson. With a passing game that was sputtering and making mistakes, Minnesota needed Peterson to contribute heavily. Against a very good defense, Peterson did just that. His cutback ability was incredible, his combination of both speed and power was awe-inspiring, and by the end of the game he looked far and away like the best running back in the league. He was able to make long runs with defenders hanging on his back. He was able to hit a pile 3 yards from the line of scrimmage and move the entire pile 12 yards from the line of scrimmage. His touchdown was a full display of his lateral agility, as he cut left and right at full speed and wrong-footed defenders, barreling through two defender and stretch in to the end zone. On a safety blitz, the offensive line was able to crack a hole and Peterson burst through, running in the open space vacated by the safety and broke a tackle to finish with a 21 yard gain. By the fourth quarter, Minnesota completely leaned on the running back to finish the game, and Peterson showed the same strength and speed at the end of the game as he did in the beginning. If one had to nitpick something, it would be his inability to generate much yardage on his catches, as Arizona was able to swarm him after the catch. He also had a bad drop at the beginning, but that doesn’t really diminish how great Peterson was with the ball in his hands.

Week 8 - This may have been Peterson’s most impressive game of the season. The offensive line paved the way for his elite lateral explosion to shine against second-level defenders. His day was only limited by the game situation with Minnesota falling behind in the first half. Peterson did fumble in Minnesota territory at a time when it was a one-possession game in the second quarter. He was fighting for additional yardage at the second-level and was hit while the ball was away from his body. It was rare chink in the armor of one of the best running backs in the league. In the passing game, Peterson was rarely involved. One notable play came in pass protection. In a simple read of an outside linebacker blitz, the defender worked past Peterson easily, hitting Ponder just as he released the pass. Peterson did not see any red zone opportunities in the game. It was fortunate for fantasy owners that he broke a long touchdown run, as over the past three seasons, 24 of his 28 rushing touchdowns have come from inside the 20-yard-line.

Week 9 - The combination of strength and speed that Adrian Peterson possesses is staggering. On the second play of the game, Peterson was bounced outside and met Alan Branch in the backfield. Peterson stiff-armed Branch, shed another tackler, turned the corner and ran down the sideline, but right as a defender was about to meet Peterson head on, Peterson made an incredible cut back inside that left the defender tackling his own teammate and Peterson in a footrace to the end zone. He was tackled on the 1 yard line by Brandon Browner, but two plays later Peterson got the goal line carry and drove right through Red Bryant’s gut for a touchdown. Peterson’s strength and ability to always keep his legs moving ensured that the running back rarely had a negative play. On Peterson’s second touchdown, he was met at the 2 yard line by a group of tacklers. With his legs constantly churning, Peterson forced his way through and twisted forward to push the ball across the goal line. In addition to strength, Peterson had the speed and acceleration to burst through any gaps and rip off long gain after long gain when the Minnesota offensive line was able to open up holes. On one play, the offensive line created a gap right in the middle and Peterson burst through to get to the secondary, where a safety attempted a tackle and Peterson spun right off the lowered shoulder to pick up even more yards. Peterson’s speed, strength, and cutting ability often left Seattle defenders overwhelmed and unable to stop the running game.

Week 10 - For most of the day, the Lions swarmed to the football in the running game and contained Peterson as well as anyone can expect to. However, when you have a superstar running back, you expect him to make impact plays and that's exactly what he did. Peterson's first big run went for 17 yards in the second quarter. On the same drive, Peterson took a handoff from Ponder and sprinted forward for 13 more yards on a very well blocked running play. Peterson played well all day, and more importantly ran hard all day, so it was no surprise that his biggest runs came in the fourth quarter. On a sweep to the left he broke a 20 yard gain down the left sideline, before going 61 yards down the right sideline with his very next carry. The Lions defense couldn't get near him once the blocking of his offensive line sprung him off right tackle. After a quick Calvin Johnson fumble, Peterson again broke into the open field with his next carry for a big gain. He proved to be the difference in the result of the game.

Week 12 - Despite having just 25 yards rushing in the first half and being down by 22 points, Adrian Peterson got stronger as the game wore on and was the lone bright spot for the Vikings all day. In the second half, he came alive though and frequently gashed the Bears for big gains up the gut and off tackle. While the Chicago running backs averaged less than three yards a carry, Peterson averaged six and 13 of his 18 carries were for four or more yards. While Peterson did finish the day with six receptions, five of them came with under eight minutes to play and the Bears were up by 18 points. He finished with his fifth consecutive 100 yard rushing game, but also coughed up two fumbles and was stopped short on 4th and 1 on Minnesota’s final offensive play. Peterson’s first fumble came in the 1st quarter, a short run off tackle where the Bears stripped the ball and Charles Tillman was able to recover. The Bears took advantage of the short field and drove down for the TD. In the 4th quarter, Peterson fumbled the exchange with Christian Ponder and the Bears were able to recover it but were not able to put any additional points on the board. However, it killed any momentum that the Vikings were hoping to generate for a comeback. It killed a drive that Peterson kicked off with his best run of the day – a 23 yard pure power run to the outside where Peterson ran around, over and spun out from multiple defenders to create the highlight of the day.

Week 13 - What more can be said about Adrian Peterson’s season? Despite awful-to-no support from the pass game, stacked fronts and two torn ligaments Peterson is virtually unstoppable and just keeps on trucking. His 82 yard touchdown run was a thing of beauty. On the play, Peterson took the handoff about six yards behind the line and broke right. He swiftly found the edge and turned upfield, slipping a tackle about three yards beyond the line of scrimmage. He then collided with a Packers defender along the sideline while another tried to grab him from behind. The player he ran into bounced off him, delaying the pursuing defender and allowing Peterson space to really turn on the jets. After that he was gone. Ever the wily vet, Peterson made sure to glance up at the scoreboard to see how close any Packers were. That touchdown was critical, turning the game around at a point when the Packers were in charge. That’s what Peterson does, and did again all day Sunday. Unfortunately, the passing offense wasted his effort and worse, both of quarterback Christian Ponder’s two interceptions came within a few plays of a big Peterson run which put the Vikings within the red zone and on the verge of scoring. The upside is the struggles of the rest of the offense doesn’t seem to be hurting Peterson as he is playing better than he has possibly in his entire year and since Ponder and company are struggling, he will continue to have a heavy workload and put up good numbers.

Week 14 - Peterson opened the game with a big 51 yard run behind a jumbo package to start off the game for the Vikings. Minnesota lined up three tight ends at multiple times during the game and overloaded one side of the ball. When Chicago was caught flat-footed, big things resulted, including the 51 yard rumble from Peterson on play #1. He ripped off another 16 yards behind a similar formation a few plays later. Despite the Bears having nine guys in the box, they couldn’t stop him from tearing it up. Peterson carried the ball five times on the opening drive for 69 yards, including the 1 yard TD plunge. After the interception return gave Minnesota the ball on the five yard line, Peterson carried the ball another three times for his second score of the game. The Bears held him in check on the next series, but just before the end of the first quarter, Peterson again gashed the Bears for two cut back runs of 14 and 15 yards to end the quarter. He finished the quarter with 12 carries for 104 yards and 2 TDS. The Bears held him to a respectable 19 carries for just 50 yards after that, but the damage was already done. He also chipped in two receptions, including a nice 14 yard catch and run in the third quarter. As the game wore on, the Bears started penetrating more and more when it became clear that Christian Ponder wasn’t going to be throwing the ball much, and Peterson had just 20 yards total on his final 10 carries of the game. Fantasy owners should note though that even when the Vikings were leading by 14 points with under five minutes to play, Peterson was still the primary ball carrier and lost very few touches to Toby Gerhart in this game.

Week 15 - Peterson was bottled up as the Rams completely sold out to stop him early on. After his first seven carries, he was in negative yardage although a handful of those carries came in the redzone. With the Rams running so aggressively to the football, the Vikings used that aggression against them with a delayed handoff. The result saw Peterson run for an untouched 82 yard touchdown. Even though he was untouched, it wasn't a simple run as he cut back after seven yards to find a hole before sprinting away from the defense. Amazingly, defensive end Robert Quinn was the only one who was able to stay with him, but Peterson even managed to lose him comfortably with 30 yards to go. Peterson ran hard all day, as his nickname would imply, and while he was sometimes taken down in the backfield or at the line of scrimmage by the Rams crowding the line of scrimmage, he broke big plays whenever his offensive line gave him any sort of opportunity. No play epitomizes Adrian Peterson more than his biggest in the fourth quarter. The Rams had just scored eight points on one drive, with over six minutes left, the crowd was coming alive and the Rams had Peterson dead to rights six yards deep behind the line of scrimmage. Peterson reversed the field, beat two defenders set up his blocking and carried the ball for a 52 yard gain. The only surprise was that he didn't score the touchdown.

Week 16 - despite having his worst yardage game since early October, Peterson was instrumental in helping the Vikings keep their playoff hopes alive with a hard fought win against the Texans.  The Vikings fed Peterson the ball primarily between the tackles in an effort to keep the pass rush off of Christian Ponder.  Peterson's best run came on a first half rush off guard to the right.  The Texan defense appeared to have him stopped at the line of scrimmage, only to see Peterson break free to the middle of the field for a 12 yard gain. He had one goalline carry on first down from the 4 but was tackled for no gain.  Peterson also had a four yard reception on a screen pass to the left side.  Peterson is 102 yards shy of his quest for 2000 yards with one game to play and although his week 16 yardage total may have disappointed fantasy owners, he was more than respectable against one of the league's toughest defenses.

Week 17 - On just his second carry, Peterson bounced outside at the line of scrimmage before breaking down the field for an 11 yard gain. Peterson nearly broke free on his next two carries, as he ran off either edge and was dragged down just before breaking into the secondary. On his very next carry, he broke free off right tackle for 22 yards when he stiff-armed that final defender to get outside. Peterson should have had a touchdown on his next carry when he cut back across the field, but he hesitated for a moment which allowed the defender to wrap him up after a five yard gain. He wouldn't be stopped on the next play as he took a delayed handoff through an excellent running lane to get into the endzone with ease. Not until Peterson's ninth carry did the Packers stop him behind the line of scrimmage. Two plays later, Peterson converted a fourth and one despite having to break a tackle in the backfield before running into his own blocker. The Packers bottled Peterson up for his next few carries, before Peterson bounced off of a tackle in the backfield before breaking outside for a 20 yard gain. On a play designed to go over right guard, Peterson set up the defense by attacking the hole before accelerating around the edge for 20 yards down the right sideline. The very next play sent him over right guard again, when he danced through multiple gaps for six yards. On second and 27, Peterson ran through a gap over right guard and converted for 28 yards down the right sideline. Although he didn't run it in, Peterson eventually finished off the drive with a touchdown after Ponder threw it to him in the endzone on a rollout when he was uncovered. After Jairus Wright's big play, Peterson carried the ball forward for 13 yards to the goalline. He couldn't punch it in though and did appear a step slower in the second half overall as his workload took it's toll. He was still effective, but not as dominant and dangerous as he had been in the first half. Yet, when his team needed him to, he broke loose again. Peterson broke free into the secondary over left guard, before beating two defenders in space to set up the game-winning field goal. Peterson was nine yards short of Eric Dickerson's effort, but couldn't have had a bigger smile on the sidelines.

Week 18 - The crowd cheered Adrian Peterson's first carry. It was telling that they were cheering a four yard gain. After just four carries, including two handoffs in read situations, Peterson had already gained 33 yards between the tackles. Finally, a delayed handoff stopped Peterson up the middle when Charles Woodson shot through the line of scrimmage. From that point onwards, Peterson failed to make his usual impact. The Vikings didn't commit to him as they had in previous matches with the Packers and the play-calling appeared to lack direction after the initial drive. Couple that with better tackling from the Packers and more disciplined defense, and Peterson was made to look mortal. Peterson's most impressive run on the day was a 17 yard gain when he slipped in the backfield initially, bounced outside before breaking two tackles. He followed that up with an 11 yard gain, but it was too little, too late.