Adrian Peterson: Best rookie RB season ever?
Very few people doubted Adrian Peterson’s talents coming out of Oklahoma, but some wondered if he would have a chance to put them fully on display as a rookie, since the Vikings already had a more-than-serviceable tailback in Chester Taylor. But injuries to Taylor and, more importantly, Peterson’s all-world talents have led to his emerging as one of the league’s best young playmakers right out of the gate.
In case you haven’t been paying close attention, Peterson ran for 224 yards on 20 carries yesterday in the Vikings 34-31 win over the Chicago Bears. Through five games, Peterson’s numbers are:
- 96 rushes
- 607 yards rushing
- 6.3 yards per rush
- 10 receptions
- 175 yards receiving
- 17.5 yards per reception
- 5 TDs
Peterson has 100+ yards rushing in four of his five games, and has plays of 73, 60, and 55 yards on the season.
Were Peterson to maintain this productivity through the end of the season, he would finish the year:
- 307 rushes
- 1,942 yards rushing
- 32 receptions
- 560 receiving yards
- 16 TDs
As you might expect, this would be a record-breaking season for a rookie NFL RB.
Rookie RB Seasons, Yards from Scrimmage (1960-Present)
| Rank | First | Last | Year | Age | Games | ScrimYds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| **Proj | Adrian | Peterson | 2007 | 22 | 16 | 2502 |
| 1 | Eric | Dickerson | 1983 | 23 | 16 | 2212 |
| 2 | Edgerrin | James | 1999 | 21 | 16 | 2139 |
| 3 | Billy | Sims | 1980 | 25 | 16 | 1924 |
| 4 | Ottis | Anderson | 1979 | 22 | 16 | 1913 |
| 5 | Clinton | Portis | 2002 | 21 | 16 | 1872 |
| 6 | Marshall | Faulk | 1994 | 21 | 16 | 1804 |
| 7 | George | Rogers | 1981 | 23 | 15 | 1800 |
| 8 | Curt | Warner | 1983 | 22 | 16 | 1774 |
| 9 | Barry | Sanders | 1989 | 21 | 15 | 1752 |
| 10 | Curtis | Martin | 1995 | 22 | 16 | 1748 |
| 11 | Jerome | Bettis | 1993 | 21 | 16 | 1673 |
| 12 | Jamal | Lewis | 2000 | 21 | 16 | 1660 |
| 13 | Mike | Anderson | 2000 | 27 | 14 | 1656 |
| 14 | Fred | Taylor | 1998 | 22 | 15 | 1644 |
| 15 | LaDainian | Tomlinson | 2001 | 22 | 16 | 1603 |
| 16 | Joe | Cribbs | 1980 | 22 | 16 | 1600 |
| 17 | Herschel | Walker | 1986 | 24 | 16 | 1574 |
| 18 | Eddie | George | 1996 | 23 | 16 | 1550 |
| 19 | Don | Woods | 1974 | 23 | 12 | 1511 |
| 20 | Earl | Campbell | 1978 | 23 | 15 | 1498 |
| 21 | Terrell | Davis | 1995 | 23 | 14 | 1484 |
| 22 | Abner | Haynes | 1960 | 23 | 14 | 1451 |
| 23 | Rueben | Mayes | 1986 | 23 | 16 | 1449 |
| 24 | Robert | Edwards | 1998 | 24 | 16 | 1446 |
| 25 | Warrick | Dunn | 1997 | 22 | 16 | 1440 |
But would it be the best fantasy season? Using standard FBG scoring it, just barely, WOULD BE…
Top Rookie RB Fantasy Seasons (1960-Present)
| Rank | First | Last | YR | Age | Games | RuYds | Recs | RecYDs | TDs | FPTs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Proj | Adrian | Peterson | 2007 | 22 | 16 | 1942 | 32 | 560 | 16 | 346.2 |
| 1 | Eric | Dickerson | 1983 | 23 | 16 | 1808 | 51 | 404 | 20 | 341.2 |
| 2 | Edgerrin | James | 1999 | 21 | 16 | 1553 | 62 | 586 | 17 | 315.9 |
| 3 | Clinton | Portis | 2002 | 21 | 16 | 1508 | 33 | 364 | 17 | 289.2 |
| 4 | Billy | Sims | 1980 | 25 | 16 | 1303 | 51 | 621 | 16 | 288.4 |
| 5 | Fred | Taylor | 1998 | 22 | 15 | 1223 | 44 | 421 | 17 | 266.4 |
| 6 | Curtis | Martin | 1995 | 22 | 16 | 1487 | 30 | 261 | 15 | 264.8 |
| 7 | Curt | Warner | 1983 | 22 | 16 | 1449 | 42 | 325 | 14 | 261.4 |
| 8 | Barry | Sanders | 1989 | 21 | 15 | 1470 | 24 | 282 | 14 | 259.2 |
| 9 | George | Rogers | 1981 | 23 | 15 | 1674 | 16 | 126 | 13 | 258.0 |
| 10 | Gale | Sayers | 1965 | 22 | 14 | 867 | 29 | 507 | 20 | 257.4 |
| 11 | Mike | Anderson | 2000 | 27 | 14 | 1487 | 23 | 169 | 15 | 255.6 |
| 12 | Marshall | Faulk | 1994 | 21 | 16 | 1282 | 52 | 522 | 12 | 252.4 |
| 13 | Ottis | Anderson | 1979 | 22 | 16 | 1605 | 41 | 308 | 10 | 251.3 |
| 14 | Herschel | Walker | 1986 | 24 | 16 | 737 | 76 | 837 | 14 | 241.4 |
| 15 | Joe | Cribbs | 1980 | 22 | 16 | 1185 | 52 | 415 | 12 | 232.0 |
| 16 | Cookie | Gilchrist | 1962 | 27 | 14 | 1096 | 24 | 319 | 15 | 231.5 |
| 17 | Earl | Campbell | 1978 | 23 | 15 | 1450 | 12 | 48 | 13 | 227.8 |
| 18 | Maurice | Jones-Drew | 2006 | 21 | 16 | 941 | 46 | 436 | 15 | 227.7 |
| 19 | LaDainian | Tomlinson | 2001 | 22 | 16 | 1236 | 59 | 367 | 10 | 220.3 |
| 20 | Abner | Haynes | 1960 | 23 | 14 | 875 | 55 | 576 | 12 | 217.1 |
| 21 | Robert | Edwards | 1998 | 24 | 16 | 1115 | 35 | 331 | 12 | 216.6 |
| 22 | Ickey | Woods | 1988 | 22 | 16 | 1066 | 21 | 199 | 15 | 216.5 |
| 23 | Don | Woods | 1974 | 23 | 12 | 1162 | 26 | 349 | 10 | 211.1 |
| 24 | Jerome | Bettis | 1993 | 21 | 16 | 1429 | 26 | 244 | 7 | 209.3 |
| 25 | Ricky | Watters | 1992 | 23 | 14 | 1013 | 43 | 405 | 11 | 207.8 |
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Great read. Very interesting stuff. While I don’t think that Peterson will finish on the pace he’s currently at, I do think that we are looking at next years #1 overall fantasy draft pick. He has all the tools and a monsterous o-line. He’s the real deal and I would draft him over Tomlinson next year.
Comment by Rounders — October 16, 2007 @ 4:09 pm
[…] OK, a few weeks ago we pondered whether Adrian Peterson was on his way to the best rookie RB season in league history. […]
Pingback by Footballguys Blog » Adrian Peterson: Breaking records ALL DAY — November 5, 2007 @ 2:09 pm