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Adrian Peterson: NFL.com predicts league leading performance in 2015

By Adam Carlson

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The Minnesota Vikings are a team that the media has been showing a lot of love to recently.  A large amount of that love has been heading in the direction of the team’s running back Adrian Peterson.

Last year, Adrian Peterson was a disappointment for many reasons.  On the field, he was only able to accumulate 75 rushing yards.  Off the field, legal issues kept him from playing in 15 of the team’s 16 regular season games.  Now that those legal issues have been resolved, the former NFL Most Valuable Player doesn’t have an obstacles keeping him from being successful.

There were some questions heading into the season, but a recent photograph by David Robinson of Quick Twitch Skills Training in Dallas, Texas but those doubts to rest by showing Adrian Peterson in what looks to be the best shape of his life.  Here is that photo from Robinson’s Twitter account:

Gil Brandt at NFL.com has high expectations for Peterson this year.  In fact, Brandt recently wrote an article predicting the league leaders in several statistical categories for the 2015 NFL season.  Included in the article are quarterbacks Andrew Luck and Aaron Rodgers as well as wide receivers Antonio Brown and Calvin Johnson.  But one look in the running backs section will show Adrian Peterson.

Here is what Gil Brandt sees in the future for Peterson:

"Rushing yards: Adrian Peterson, Minnesota VikingsWill finish with: 1,625 rushing yards.2014 rank: No. 128, with 75 rushing yards (1,770 yards behind DeMarco Murray at No. 1).I expect Peterson to have a big year in his return to the field. I don’t worry about the 30-year-old’s age, as he looks to be in marvelous shape. Offensive coordinator Norv Turner likes to run the ball just about as much as he likes to pass it; don’t forget that, while they wait for their new home stadium to be completed, the Vikings will play their home games outside again this season, in conditions that favor the ground game. Peterson seems to be out to prove himself, and I think he’ll succeed emphatically."

1,625 rushing yards in 2015 would mean an average of 101.6 per game for Adrian Peterson.  Over the eight years of his NFL career, Peterson has averaged 98 yards per game according to Pro Football Reference, so Brandt is counting on Adrian Peterson to be more effective this year than in the past.  In fact, 1,625 rushing yards would be his third best rushing total for a season other than his 2008 and 2012 campaigns.

Although Brandt sees Peterson leading the league in rushing yards, he sees Denver Broncos running back C.J. Anderson emerging as the NFL’s best running back at finding the end zone, predicting 16 rushing touchdowns for the 2015 NFL seasons.  Still, it’s great to see Adrian Peterson and the Minnesota Vikings getting some love from the major media outlets.

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