NFL.com: Minnesota Vikings Have #3 Backfield In The NFL

Since the NFL’s regular season is just around the corner, every single sports website is turning their attention to projecting how the teams will do and creating lists of how they feel the teams stack up in many different situations. Recently, an article on NFL.com decided to rank each team in the league, including the Minnesota Vikings, based on their personnel in the backfield.

Sep 29, 2013; London, UNITED KINGDOM; Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson (28) during the NFL International Series game against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Wembley Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bob Martin-USA TODAY Sports

Not surprisingly, the Minnesota Vikings ranked well on the list, earning the #3 spot according to the author of the piece, Marc Sessler.

Of course, one of the driving forces behind the positive evaluation of the Vikings running backs is former NFL MVP Adrian Peterson. Expectations are high for the player who missed a vast majority of the 2014 season due to legal issues and being placed on the Commissioner’s Permission/Exempt list.

Here is what Sessler said in the article about the reasoning for placing the Vikings at #3:

"“Adrian Peterson — the best running back of our generation — is enough to lift the Vikings into the top five. I have no reason to doubt that he will be any less of a force come September. He actually finds himself in a much better offense now, with young quarterback Teddy Bridgewater throwing the ball to Mike Wallace, Charles Johnson and Kyle Rudolph. Even when teams stack the box, though, Peterson remains the most successful runner in NFL history against eight-man fronts.”"

Plus, the Minnesota Vikings have the two men that worked hard to hold down the ship while Peterson was out last year. Matt Asiata proved to be the bowling ball that the team needed to cash in on short yardage situations and goal line opportunities while Jerick McKinnon impressed fans with his elusiveness and explosive nature.

The only two team rated higher than the Minnesota Vikings were the Philadelphia Eagles (DeMarco Murray, Ryan Mathews, Darren Sproles, Kenjon Barner, Matthew Tucker) and the Seattle Seahawks (Marshawn Lynch, Robert Turbin, Christine Michael, Rod Smith, Thomas Rawls).

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