The NFL season won’t kick off for months, but that hasn’t stop the gambling world from predicting Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson as the odds-on favorite to win the 2014 rushing title.
According to Pro Football Talk, Nevada sports book CG Technology has set the odds at Peterson leading the league in rushing yards at 4-1.
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Peterson, 29, won the NFL MVP in 2012 after rushing for a league-leading 2,097 yards, but saw his numbers drop across the board during an injury-plagued 2013. He finished fifth in the league in rushing with 1,266 yards despite missing two games, though his yards-per-carry average dropped over a yard.
Just behind Peterson sits Philadelphia Eagles running back LeSean McCoy, last season’s leading rusher, with 5-1 odds. McCoy ran for 1,607 yards last season in Chip Kelly’s fast-moving, high-powered offense, and should be able to produce similarly in 2014 barring injuries.
Following those two sit a number of other running backs:
– Kansas City’s Jamaal Charles, 10-1
– Seattle’s Marshawn Lynch, 12-1
– Washington’s Alfred Morris, 12-1
– Chicago’s Matt Forte, 14-1
– Tampa Bay’s Doug Martin, 18-1
The sports book also set “the field” — which consists of all other running backs not listed above — at 8-1 odds, if you’re feeling a possible dark horse like Eddie Lacy or Giovanni Bernard. Lacy, individually, received 22-1 odds, while Bernard sits at 30-1 odds.
Some other notables include Houston’s Arian Foster at 20-1 odds and Denver’s Montee Ball, who’s expected to take over for Knowshon Moreno as the team’s top back, at 22-1 odds.
These will obviously keep changing as the offseason progresses, injuries occur and depth charts settle, but for now, it’s AP All Day.