Minnesota Vikings should not increase Adrian Peterson’s passing role
Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson will be in the Hall of Fame one day, but he’s never caught more than 43 passes in a single season- a feat he achieved back in 2009. Will that change in 2016?
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It seems like ever since Norv Turner has been the Minnesota Vikings offensive coordinator, the organization has toyed around with the idea of Adrian Peterson earning more targets in the passing game. They like to drop this line every offseason during the dead period, we talk about it, and, in general, most fans say, “Sure, why not? How is giving Peterson the ball more ever a bad thing?”
The logic is sound, and there are stats to back it up. For instance, in 2015, Peterson was thrown at 36 times by Teddy Bridgewater, and he turned those looks into 30 catches for the Vikings offense. An 83.3% catch rate is something to be proud of, but the fact of the matter is that the man with 1,485 rushing yards doesn’t need any more touches.
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This offseason, the talk about an increased role for Peterson in the passing game comes from ESPN NFL Nation beat writer Ben Goessling who predicts that Minnesota will continue to work to get him involved in the passing game. Per Goessling, Peterson has been working on that part of his game, so the prediction is perfectly legitimate.
Manufacturing Peterson receptions in the passing game isn’t going to help the Vikings, and it has everything to do with making plays in space. At this stage, Teddy Bridgewater is a poised, accurate quarterback who doesn’t need to boost his completion percentage with high-percentage, low-reward throws to Peterson, who simply isn’t going to make big-time plays in this realm.
You know might? Jerick McKinnon, a guy who caught 21 of his 29 passes last season and averaged 5.2 yards per carry on 52 attempts. McKinnon is an athletic freak who has done nothing but impress since coming into the league, and while he is a less experienced receiver out of the backfield, the point should be for the Vikings to experiment with the intent of generating big plays.
They can already use their tight ends or Laquon Treadwell if they want to move the chains, and about 30 receptions for Peterson seems to be more than reasonable. It’s pretty much been his pass-catching workload throughout his career, and nothing in his recent history suggests that an increase in targets would lead to higher returns for the Vikings offense.
With 327 rushing attempts in 2015 and, as per ESPN NFL Nation’s John Keim, no yellow light given by head coach Mike Zimmer, Peterson’s rushing work will be demanding enough. Given his health and recent track record, over 90 rushing yards per game is a reasonable projection, and upping his role in the passing game might mildly decrease the 31-year-old’s rushing efficiency.
Pro Football Focus gave McKinnon a substantially higher receiving and pass blocking grade than Peterson, lending less credence to the idea that Peterson should receive a more pronounced role in the Vikings passing attack.
Goessling’s intel on Peterson’s additional practice time is a worthwhile nugget, but it would be too soon to assume that he’s actually improved in this area. Unlike former Denver Broncos back Montee Ball, who received some fantasy hype after working hard on his route-running in the offseason, there are no questions about Peterson’s work ethic and ability to improved.
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Now that Peterson is 31, though, is this the best thing for the Viking offense? I’d prefer to see them go with a more rewarding approach, since a considerable increase in targets and snaps for Peterson on passing downs hasn’t happened, nor does it seem to match up with the goals of an offense that was 25th in net yards per pass attempt and 31st in passing touchdowns. Simply put, a higher proportion of conservative passes to an older running back who already works his tail off as a rusher probably won’t help them generate the big plays they need.