How much Adrian Peterson has left in the tank is a question fantasy football players and fans of the Washington Redskins are eager to learn the answer to.
Naturally, Peterson is convinced that he’s still one of the best running backs in the NFL, and in a roundabout way he put part of the blame of his disappointing 2017 and 2018 seasons on the offensive lines blocking for him.
“I haven’t been able to be patient with a lot of my runs in a long time because the last couple teams I played for, the offensive lines weren’t the greatest with the exception of New Orleans,” Peterson said, via ESPN. “They had a decent line but I didn’t get a lot of time. But my last two years in Minnesota, we really struggled and then in Arizona it was rough.”
In Washington, Peterson feels he once again has a good run-blocking line in front of him.
“Being able to trust these guys and know I have guys up front that can get to their blocks, that will hold their blocks, will allow me to play slower and be more patient.”
What’s interesting is that Peterson said the offensive line wasn’t very good his last two years with the Vikings. Despite that, he led the NFL with 1,487 rushing yards in 2015 before an injury limited him to three games in 2016.
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Peterson didn’t get much playing time behind Mark Ingram and upstart rookie Alvin Kamara in New Orleans, then started out strong in Arizona before a neck injury ended his 2017 season.
Peterson signed with the Redskins on Aug. 20 and rushed for 56 yards on 11 carries in his preseason debut. He said he felt fresh and was ready for another 15 carries, which might be the case when Washington opens the regular season at Arizona Sep. 9.
“I always go into the season or any game thinking if they call it 40 times, I’ll be ready to run it 40 times,” Peterson said. “Whatever load they give me I’ll be ready for it.”
