Opportunity outweighs age for Adrian Peterson

Much like children on Christmas morning, fantasy football players are often too quick to toss aside their trustworthy old toys in exchange for shiny new ones. In fantasy drafts that have already taken place this season, that same exact approach is present. Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson is getting overlooked in favor of the next crop of young ball carriers in the NFL like Ezekiel Elliott, Todd Gurley and David Johnson.

This obsession with the next best thing has caused Peterson to fall much too far in these fantasy drafts. According to MyFantasyLeague.com the Minnesota running back is the sixth runner being drafted and owns an average draft pick of 22.95.

Peterson is no longer a young pup as he has reached the always-scary 30s, but the running back is still a fine fantasy pick up and deserves more attention than he is getting entering the 2016 season.  

What should allow fantasy players to look past his age, is Peterson’s opportunity. His role in the Vikings’ offense is rare in the new running back by committee approach in the NFL. Fantasy football is all about getting players that get touches on the ball.

Among running backs, no one got more of a chance with the ball than Peterson in 2015. The running back finished last season with 327 rushing attempts, while the next highest, Tampa Bay’s Doug Martin, ended the 2016 campaign with 288 rushes.

It’s not just running backs that Peterson out touched in 2015, the Vikings’ rusher led the league in total opportunities with 357 touches last season. His getting chances to make a fantasy impact did not stop there. In 2015, he was among the league leaders in touches in the red zone, where fantasy championships are won.

Getting a chance at the always-important six points is what separates the good from the best in fantasy football. In 2015, few were better than Peterson at getting a chance to hit pay dirt.

Inside of the 20-yard line, Peterson received the third-most rushing attempts last season. All-Day finished with 45 carries inside the red zone, trailing just the Steelers’ DeAngelo Williams, the Panthers’ Jonathan Stewart and the Falcons’ Devonta Freeman in tries within 20 yards of a score. Freeman, who finished with the most rushes inside the 20 with 47 carries, had just two more attempts than Peterson did in 2015.

The closer the Vikings got to the end zone, the more of a focal point Peterson became for the offense. Inside the 10-yard line, the Vikings’ ball carrier received 24 rushing attempts, second-most in the league to DeAngelo Williams, who had 28.

With the ball within five yards of the goal line, Peterson received a similar emphasis for the Vikings’ offense. In this case, he was given the ball 14 times, third-most in the NFL.

Even at his age, fantasy players should expect more of the same from Peterson in 2016, especially in the red zone. The Vikings’ Head Coach Mike Zimmer is always going to be cautious with the ball particularly down around the end zone. That’s the M.O. of the defensive-minded head coach.

In 2014, with Peterson missing most of the season due to his suspension, the Vikings’ continued to run the ball heavily in the red zone without their All-Pro runner. That season the Minnesota offense ran 98 plays in the red zone, rushing the ball on 51 of those attempts. The run heavy approach led to 11 rushing touchdowns by Vikings’ ball carriers.

Last season with A.P. back in the huddle, Minnesota ran 120 plays inside the 20 and called for running plays 71 times.

The big workload that Peterson receives in this Vikings’ offense is too much to ignore for fantasy players, even with all of these new running backs appearing ready to make their imprint on the NFL. Do not forget about Peterson and his role in the Vikings’ offense while making your selection in fantasy drafts.

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