Former Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson was not among the 12 rushers who were recently selected to the NFL’s All-Time team.
During his tenure with the Minnesota Vikings, Adrian Peterson created a number of memorable moments. But no season of his with the Vikings may be more memorable than what he was able to do out on the field in 2012.
That season, Peterson rushed for 2,097 yards and 12 touchdowns. His rushing total in 2012 is still the second-most ever by an NFL running back in a single season. Peterson is also one of only seven running backs to finish a year with at least 2,000 rushing yards.
Unsurprisingly, the former Minnesota rusher was named the league’s MVP in 2012 and he’s just the fourth running back to win the award since the 2000 season.
In addition to his magical 2012 campaign, Peterson also had a number of very impressive seasons when suited up for the Vikings from 2007 to 2016. Currently, he’s still chugging along as a member of the Washington Redskins and he is sitting in sixth place on the NFL’s all-time career rushing yards list.
Now, all of these accomplishments during his time in the league would lead one to believe that Peterson should be considered one of the NFL’s greatest running backs of all-time, right? Well, apparently not.
As part of the league’s 100th anniversary this year, the NFL has put together an All-Time Team and the running backs who made the cut were recently announced. 12 were selected, however, Peterson was not one of them.
Instead of the former Minnesota running back, the league went with Jim Brown, Earl Campbell, Earl Clark, Eric Dickerson, Lenny Moore, Marion Motley, Walter Payton, Barry Sanders, Gale Sayers, O.J. Simpson, Emmitt Smith, and Steve Van Buren.
It’s a bit odd that Peterson was not one of the backs included, especially since four of the guys who actually were selected (Clark, Moore, Motley, Sayers, Van Buren), didn’t even amass at least 6,000 total rushing yards during their NFL careers.
The players for the league’s All-Time Team were selected by a 26-person panel that included people like Bill Belichick, Tony Dungy, John Madden, Don Shula, Bill Polian, Ron Wolf, Dan Fouts, Ozzie Newsome, and Peter King.
Obviously, all of Peterson’s career achievements in the NFL were not good enough for the panel to think he is worthy of being a member of the league’s All-Time Team.