Fantasy Football: Is Adrian Peterson Worth a 2018 Draft Pick?

GLENDALE, AZ – OCTOBER 15: Running back Adrian Peterson #23 of the Arizona Cardinals steps up to the line of scrimmage during the first half of the NFL game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at the University of Phoenix Stadium on October 15, 2017 in Glendale, Arizona. The Cardinals defeated the Buccaneers 38-33. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /

Is Adrian Peterson Worth a 2018 Fantasy Football Draft Pick?

Picture this: the fantasy football season is right around the corner and you have all your draft material ready to go. The rankings you will live and die by, complete with your favorite sleepers and value picks.

You get an alert sent to your phone. Is it the dreaded preseason injury notification? Perhaps it’s an update on Andrew Luck‘s health? Maybe an article predicting that this will be Tom Brady‘s last season?

Okay, it’s none of the above.

Surprisingly – it’s an alert summarizing the projections for Jamaal Charles, Alfred Morris, and of course – Adrian Peterson. All of them have been in the news this week.

Quick! When you pictured that scenario in your head, was it right before the 2015 NFL season?

Or two hours ago?

Trick question – it doesn’t matter.

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Adrian Peterson is thirty-two years old. That’s roughly eighty-nine in running back years and only a couple of months shy of the legal drinking age in Frank Gore years. We’ll give him the benefit of the doubt and call it an even eighty since he’s one of the best to ever tote the rock.

All joking aside, this is not a thing. He had a decent showing in one game last season fueled by anger towards the entire Saints organization for making the choice to let him sign elsewhere. A move that turned out to be a great one once we saw what Alvin Kamara could really do.

The last time Peterson was able to post a YPC above 4.0 was 2015 when he hadn’t even turned thirty and was in a much different situation both physically and organizationally. The offense was built around him and he was “the guy” in Minnesota. This pains me to say, but at this point he’s just “a guy” sharing a backfield with two equally average backs. His situation is no different from Jamaal Charles’ was in Denver last year.

Washington’s offensive line is decent enough to sustain a few serviceable showings from their backfield, but spending a pick on anyone but Chris Thompson would be a mistake.

All of us remember when AP lit the world on fire with his explosive burst and downhill running style, but it’s time to leave the past in the past.

The same type of hype surrounded him last season and it disappeared just as quickly (two weeks to be exact). Father time is undefeated, and the Redskins backfield is ugly. No matter how nostalgic it seems, please don’t waste a fantasy pick on Adrian Peterson.

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