Adrian Peterson will be a Hall-of-Fame running back when it’s all said and done.
With his addition to the New Orleans backfield; the Saints have added almost 12k rushing yards & 97 TDs, however many people feel Peterson’s brightest days are behind him.
While there aren’t many, one of the biggest criticisms levied against A.P. is his lack of a strong receiving game. In fact, in his 10-year career, Peterson has just 1,954 receiving yards total; with his best years coming in 2009 (436) & 2010 (341) when Brett Favre was the Vikings QB.
Don’t try to tell Peterson this is his fault though.
ESPN’s Mike Triplett spoke to Peterson about the criticism. Here’s how he responded:
“It’s always funny to me. … It’s like a lot of people say, ‘Well, he can’t catch the ball.’ And I’m like, ‘I’ve been playing ball since I was 7 years old, I can catch a football,’” Peterson said. “I don’t let it frustrate me too much. But I’d be lying to you to say it’s not nerve-wracking to hear people say, ‘He can’t catch the ball. What is he gonna do in this offense because they pass so much?’”
“A lot of quarterbacks, when they go through their progression, they’re stuck on one side. They’re not seeing the backside checkdown or me leaking out in the flat or a back leaking out in the flat,” Peterson said. “You’ve got guys like Favre and Drew Brees who are Hall of Famers, they’re Hall of Famers for a reason. Not only can they throw the ball, but they have other qualities that make them top-tier quarterbacks. … You’ve got a guy who knows what’s going on, he knows every guy’s position and where they’re supposed to be.”
Peterson isn’t totally wrong. He’s played in some pretty elementary offensive schemes which were requiring him to take a handoff, run into the backs of his O-line, & make something happen. He’s also played with some mediocre QB talent, however he’s definitely not a receiving back. He lacks the fluid moves in space, without the ball, that many backs use to get open on a LB coming out of the flats.
Peterson is definitely a top RB in NFL history, but in terms of a pass-catcher?, we’ll go ahead and table that debate.
Hopefully he’s right about Brees being able to open up his game.
