I am not a big fan of Adrian Peterson (who is joining Washington). He’s 33 years old, and that’s awfully long in the tooth for a running back. Everyone hits the end of the road.
But at the same time, Washington doesn’t have much else at the position. Rob Kelley is a try-hard guy, but he’s awfully limited. I don’t think he has enough speed or ability to be more than a depth guy. Samaje Perine maybe. He’s bigger and runs with a little more pop. But ball security has been a problem and he hasn’t done it yet. (And Perine might be out until September with a sprained ankle.)
Derrius Guice was supposed to be Washington’s tailback – a younger version of Peterson – but he’s out for the year with a torn ACL.
So I understand the decision to bring in Peterson. He’s old and unlikely to stay healthy and productive for a full 16 games. But he’s long been a special kind of dude – cut from a different cloth than the vast majority of NFL players.
As a 32-year-old last year, Peterson had games with 159 and 134 yards for Arizona last year. Those are big totals. There were only 19 other games last year that featured a running back going for more than 134 yards.
So for at least some games this year, Peterson might be a good back to combo with pass-catcher Chris Thompson.
As luck would have it, Washington plays Arizona in Week 1. He could be up for that one. He also might have special interest in the Week 5 game against the Saints.
| GAMES WITH 130-PLUS RUSHING YARDS (2017) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Opp. | Score | Att | Yards | Avg | TD |
| Leonard Fournette, Jac. | at Pitt. | W 30-9 | 28 | 181 | 6.5 | 2 |
| LeVeon Bell, Pitt. | at K.C. | W 19-13 | 32 | 179 | 5.6 | 1 |
| Kareem Hunt, K.C. | at LAC | W 24-10 | 17 | 172 | 10.1 | 1 |
| Jordan Howard, Chi. | at Balt. | W 27-24 | 36 | 167 | 4.6 | 0 |
| Bilal Powell, NYJ | Jac. | W 23-20 | 21 | 163 | 7.8 | 1 |
| Adrian Peterson, Ariz. | at S.F. | W 20-10 | 37 | 159 | 4.3 | 0 |
| C.J. Anderson, Den. | at Ind. | W 25-13 | 30 | 158 | 5.3 | 0 |
| LeSean McCoy, Buff. | Ind. | W 13-7 | 32 | 156 | 4.9 | 1 |
| Kareem Hunt, K.C. | LAC | W 30-13 | 24 | 155 | 6.5 | 1 |
| Orleans Darkwa, NYG | Wash. | W 18-10 | 20 | 154 | 7.7 | 1 |
| Todd Gurley, LAR | at Sea. | W 42-7 | 21 | 152 | 7.2 | 3 |
| LeSean McCoy, Buff. | Oak. | W 34-14 | 27 | 151 | 5.6 | 1 |
| Ezekiel Elliott, Dall. | at Wash. | W 33-19 | 33 | 150 | 4.5 | 2 |
| Kareem Hunt, K.C. | at N.E. | W 42-27 | 17 | 148 | 8.7 | 1 |
| Ezekiel Elliott, Dall. | at S.F. | W 40-10 | 26 | 147 | 5.7 | 2 |
| Jordan Howard, Chi. | at Cin. | W 33-7 | 23 | 147 | 6.4 | 2 |
| Bilal Powell, NYJ | LAC | L 7-14 | 19 | 145 | 7.6 | 1 |
| LeVeon Bell, Pitt. | at Balt. | W 26-9 | 35 | 144 | 4.1 | 2 |
| Jordan Howard, Chi. | Pitt. | W 23-17 | 23 | 140 | 6.1 | 2 |
| LeGarrette Blount, Phil. | at LAC | W 26-24 | 16 | 136 | 8.5 | 0 |
| Adrian Peterson, Ariz. | T.B. | W 38-33 | 26 | 134 | 5.2 | 2 |
| LeVeon Bell, Pitt. | Cin. | W 29-14 | 35 | 134 | 3.8 | 0 |
| Mark Ingram, N.O. | Wash. | W 34-31 | 11 | 134 | 12.2 | 1 |
| Melvin Gordon, LAC | at N.E. | L 13-21 | 14 | 132 | 9.4 | 1 |
| Aaron Jones, G.B. | N.O. | L 17-26 | 17 | 131 | 7.7 | 1 |
| Derrick Henry, Ten. | Ind. | W 36-22 | 19 | 131 | 6.9 | 1 |
| Mark Ingram, N.O. | at Buff. | W 47-10 | 21 | 131 | 6.2 | 3 |
| Frank Gore, Ind. | at Buff. | L 7-13 | 36 | 130 | 3.6 | 0 |
| Jay Ajayi, Mia. | at Atl. | W 20-17 | 26 | 130 | 5.0 | 0 |
| Leonard Fournette, Jac. | LAR | L 17-27 | 21 | 130 | 6.2 | 1 |
—Ian Allan