Ultimate Vikings Mount Rushmore: Who deserves the honor?

Adrian Peterson – RB

Records and Accolades:

• NFL MVP (2012)
• Offensive Player of the Year (2012)
• Comeback Player of the Year (2012)
• Offensive Rookie of the Year (2007)
• Most career rushing yards in Vikings history (11,747)
• Most career rushing touchdowns in Vikings history (97)
• 5th-most career rushing yards in NFL history (14,918)
• 4th-most career rushing touchdowns in NFL history (120)
• 7-time Pro Bowl selection
• 4-time First-Team All-Pro

Before Adrian Peterson was drafted in 2007, it’s not like the Vikings hadn’t had their share of talented running backs in team history. However, Peterson wasn’t just talented during his time with Minnesota, he was elite.

As a rookie in 2007, he immediately let the rest of the NFL know that he was going to end his career as one of the best running backs to ever play in the league.

Peterson’s most impressive feat during his career with the Vikings was easily his performance during the 2012 season. Coming off a torn ACL less than a year earlier, he went on to rush for an astonishing 2,097 yards, just nine yards short of breaking Eric Dickerson’s all-time single-season record.

There has never been a running back like Peterson to suit up in a Minnesota jersey, and with how the game is currently trending away from building around a rushing attack, we probably won’t see a player like him in purple and gold ever again.