Fantasy Football NFC North rankings for 2016: Adrian Peterson
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Age may be only a number to those who subscribe to a healthy lifestyle, but the ravages of Father Time are dramatically accelerated for those who put on a helmet and shoulder pads for a living—especially at the running back position. The No. 1 player in Lombardi Ave’s fantasy football rankings will be looking to defy the laws of nature by taking aim at a second-consecutive rushing title at the ripe old age of 31.
Despite authoring a remarkable comeback season last year that saw Adrian Peterson return to being the NFL’s premiere feature runner in an offense that didn’t complement him with much of a passing game, some fantasy owners remain leery about using a first-round pick on the violent game breaker who has absorbed years of punishment in his nine years of service.
But until now, the man affectionately known as “Purple Jesus” has yet to show any visible signs of wear and tear. In fact, in rushing for a league-leading 1,485 yards, Peterson proved that his burst and top-speed lateral agility are still intact.
And even if he should, for argument’s sake, lose a fraction of explosiveness that he possessed in year’s past, the six-foot-one, 217-pound bruiser should still feature his one attribute that will probably stay with him into his mid-30s—his uncommon strength.
Peterson’s ability to drag multiple defenders forward with the ball in hands was on display in Minnesota’s Week One loss to San Francisco on a dump-off pass in which the legendary ball power runner carried about four defenders forward on his back for eight or nine yards while hopping on one leg.
The one stat that puts the Texas native’s Herculean power in its proper historical perspective was provided by Pro Football Focus, which stated that Peterson’s 7,339 career rushing yards after contact would rank ninth among active players in total career rushing yards.
But as former MLB slugger Mark McGwire once infamously stated, “I’m not here to talk about the past.” What fantasy owners want to know is if No. 28 can come close to or even eclipse his yardage totals from a season ago.
Peterson’s offensive line looks to be much improved in 2016 with the addition of vicious road-grader Alex Boone at left guard and the return of John Sullivan, who was widely recognized as one of the top technicians at the center position before multiple back issues forced him miss the entire 2015 season. A deeper and healthier blocking unit should in theory make it a safe bet for the running back to average the same 4.5 yards per carry he did the year prior if not exceed that total.
The fact that Peterson ranked only 15th in yards before contact was a crystal-clear reflection of how his offensive line’s performance wasn’t up to par and should only improve.
And while the Vikings may look to scale back Peterson’s pass-catching duties, his role as a target out of the backfield has never been his strong suit.
The one part of the ground attack that will go unchanged is the 10th-year veteran’s workload as the Vikings’ goal-line back. In situations in which his team needed one yard to score or gain a first down, Peterson was successful in converting on 24 of 29 of those running plays.
But then there’s the “age” factor again rearing its ugly head.
Fantasy owners that are still wavering about selecting Minnesota’s all-time rushing leader as their top draft choice based on him being a thirty-something can rest easy knowing that both Curtis Martin and Tiki Barber ran for over 1,600 yards at 31 years of age.
The only true concern about the types of numbers Peterson will put up lies in the development of quarterback Teddy Bridgewater. Can the young passer be effective enough as a downfield thrower to compel defenses to back up and give his plow horse little more room to roam?
It’s too early to tell, but Peterson once ran for over 2,000 yards with Christian Ponder taking snaps from center.
His current ADP (average draft position) as the sixth player off the board represents solid value since you could only make an argument for Todd Gurley outperforming the old man even though the Rams’ running back’s production dropped precipitously after defenses began keying in on him in the second half of his rookie campaign.
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Wherever you rank Peterson among the top three or four runners in the league, the one certainty that we all can agree on is that ageless wonder sits alone as the top fantasy football performer in the NFC North.