Most indispensable players on the Minnesota Vikings offense

Adrian Peterson

Everyone knows by now that Adrian Peterson is one of the best running backs of all time. His presence on the field requires opposing defensive coordinators to adjust their game plan, and even when a team has all summer to plan accordingly, he can still make plays like this.

While everything listed above is true, I was still hesitant to place Adrian on this list. Adrian is a great weapon to have on offense, and he certainly has won plenty of games by himself. However, if he were to be out for an extended period of time, the Vikings wouldn’t completely fall apart. In fact, there are many out there who secretly wish Adrian would get traded, thus allowing Teddy Bridgewater to operate primarily out of the shotgun.

If Adrian were to miss most or all of the season, the Vikings would turn to Jerick McKinnon and Matt Asiata to carry the load, just like they did in 2014. McKinnon has shown he can be electric with the ball in his hands, and Asiata is average but reliable. Neither of those two could match the production of Adrian Peterson, however, which is what makes him so valuable.

John Sullivan was a candidate for this list, as he plays the most important position along the offensive line. The center is responsible for helping the quarterback call out blitzers, and anchoring the middle of the line of scrimmage is paramount to a quarterback’s ability to move up in the pocket. The reason John is not on this list is because of the Vikings’ depth at the position. As we found out last year when Sullivan went down, Berger is more than capable of filling in and playing at a high level.

Next: #2: An underappreciated piece of the puzzle