As you all know, since you've been keeping track of the 2007 SBNation Mock NFL Draft (hosted by Field Gulls), with the Vikings' first-round selection, I took Adrian Peterson, the running back out of Oklahoma (where the wind does, indeed, go rolling down the plain). I made this pick despite the fact that Notre Dame quarterback Brady Quinn was still on the board.
This apparently caught the eye of the folks over at SBNation's fine Notre Dame site, Rakes of Mallow (linked above there). In fact, in their analysis of the first round of the SBNation Mock Draft, they were so kind as to address this pick explicitly.
I'm sure you're all pleasant fellas, but let me explain to you the two main reasons that you might not want to go with Adrian Peterson here, if Quinn is available or not. I say this as a friend and a guy who enjoyed the Mike Tice Era, but wants you to get out of it.
1) Adrian Peterson gets hurt every year. Yes, it's very sad, but this isn't a thing like Reggie Bush, where it was "Well, can he handle a NFL beating, despite the fact he's never been down for an extended period of time through college?", but instead, this is literally "Adrian Peterson gets hurt. A lot" and I don't want you investing the number seven pick into a guy and beleft with a backfield of Tavaris Jackson and Chester Taylor.
2) Going back to the 2001 Super Bowl, only two teams (the 2001 Rams and the 2004 Patriots) had feature running backs (Faulk and Dillon). The pre-2004 incarnations of the Patriots did not, the Bears did not, the Eagles did not, the Panthers did not (they had two), the Raiders surely did not, the Buccaneers did not, the Steelers did not and while you might claim Shaun Alexander was a feature back for Seattle, I'll claim it was a feature left side of the line that allowed him to score a plethora of touchdowns against shitty teams untouched.
(I wrote half a thesis on why Shaun Alexander shouldn't have won the 2005 MVP, so don't challenge me on that.)
Anyway, in the best interest of the Vikings, don't take Adrian Peterson.
Your friend,
Chris
Now. . .while I've never been what you'd call a Notre Dame fan or anything, I do respect Notre Dame football, Chris runs a pretty fine site over at Rakes of Mallow, and I like hearing Beano Cook say "NO. . .dramatic pause. . .traDAME."
So, with that in mind, here's my rebuttal.
1) Have you seen our skill position players?
-Yes, Chester Taylor is a nice back. . .Chester Taylor also wore down in a big way towards the end of last year. I don't know if he was just tired of being the only competent player on the offensive side of the ball or what, but over the last 3 games of 2006, Taylor had 38 carries for 118 yards, averaging just a shade over 3 yards per carry.
-Our next best running back, Mewelde Moore, has two ankles that are apparently held together with chicken wire and scotch tape. Talk about Peterson's injury troubles, Moore is hurt all the damn time.
Peterson would immediately be used in tandem with Taylor, much like the other pairs of great NFL RBs are (Rhodes/Addai, Bush/McAlister, etc.)
2) Have you seen our skill position players?
-Our #1 and #2 guys in terms of receptions last season were Travis Taylor (51) and Jermaine Wiggins (46). They're both gone.
-Taylor was #1 in terms of yardage, too.
-Our #1 guy in terms of TD catches was Marcus Robinson (4). He's gone.
We've got a whole lot of nothing at the skill positions right now, outside of Chester Taylor. Hence, we have the most predictable offense in the league. Run on first down, run on second down, throw a pass 3 yards short of the sticks on third down, punt.
Peterson could potentially change this. Brady Quinn would not. If we draft Peterson, we have another potential weapon for Jackson to utilize. If we draft Quinn, then instead of Tarvaris Jackson behind center with nobody to throw the football to, we'd have. . .Brady Quinn behind center with nobody to throw the football to.
3) Seriously, have you seen our skill position players?
4) There wasn't a WR worth going with at #7.
5) I went with the voice of the people. The people wanted Adrian Peterson. The second choice of the people wasn't Brady Quinn, either. . .it was LaRon Landry. He would have been my second choice as well.
So, yeah. . .there you go. That's why I did what I did.