Vikings get offensive take Adrian Peterson at NFL Draft

By: Larry Fitzgerald
Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder
Originally posted 5/3/2007

 

 

After slipping to 6-10 in 2006, the Minnesota Vikings reconnected with their roots by getting downright offensive in the 2007 NFL Draft.

Last year, the Vikings failed to move forward, finishing third in the NFC North and missing the playoffs for the fourth time in five years. On top of that, offensively they were downright boring with Brad Johnson at quarterback and a core of receivers that could not consistently catch a cold, much less passes.

Head Coach Brad Childress, in his second year, has gone from the driver’s seat to the hot seat after taking a Mike Tice 9-7 team and floundering to 6-10; and then getting swept in the division by both Chicago and Green Bay.

Childress put his offensive stamp on this draft by taking Oklahoma running back Adrian Peterson with the number seven pick of the first round. Peterson is an electrifying talent: He is easily the most talented offensive player the Vikings have drafted since Daunte Culpepper and Randy Moss were picked by Dennis Green.

Peterson, if healthy, will alternate with hard-running veteran Chester Taylor, who ran for 1200 yards last year. Peterson is a game-breaker and game changer; he’s blessed with a blend of size (6’2”, 218 lbs.), speed (4.3 seconds in the 40-yard dash and 10.3 in the 100-meter), strength (the ability to break tackles) and field vision. He nearly won the Heisman Trophy as a freshman at Oklahoma by rushing for 1,925 and scoring 15 touchdowns in 2004.

Offensively the Vikings have some juice again, because Peterson is the real deal. He will wear the number 28 like he did at Oklahoma. Longtime Vikings fans remember that used to be wide receiver Ahmad Rashad’s number back in the day.

Much has been made of Peterson’s injuries: a dislocated left shoulder, right ankle sprain, and broken right clavicle. Here’s the bottom line: Football is a violent physical game. You better be tough to compete in this game. You run until you get hit or knocked down, then you get up. He’s a football player with great character and talent — that’s enough for me, and I know a little bit about both.

I’m excited for the Vikings because they need to get their fans excited again, and they may have drafted the best impact player of the entire draft. Peterson’s parents, Bonita Jackson and father Nelson Peterson, were both All-American athletes, and I have met with both of them. They are good people and have done a great job raising an outstanding young man who just happens to be a great football player.

Peterson has had to deal with much adversity and tragedy: His father spent nine years in jail for money laundering, and he has also lost his brother and grandfather in the last year. “It was a hard time for me,” Peterson said, “having my dad snatched out of my life at a young age like that. At first it was real difficult, but I had to find a way to cope with it.

“We did a lot of stuff together. My dad coached AAU Basketball. We took many trips. My dad has nine kids; every trip we were on, all nine of us was there. And he taught me to be respectful — ‘yes sir, no ma’am’ — things like that. So I’ve always had the utmost respect for my dad.”

Peterson is a tough kid, and he will light up the Metrodome like Moss and Culpepper did. “I had a great career at the University of Oklahoma, and I have no regrets. God has life laid out for me and I can’t change it, so that’s how I look at things; and it has made it easier to accept things no matter what.” Peterson said.

The Vikings also drafted Sidney Rice (6’3”, 202 lbs.) in the second round, a wide receiver from South Carolina. Cornerback Marcus McCauley Jr. (6’0’’, 203 lbs.) from Fresno State was their number-three pick. With the number-four pick, they took Brian Gale Robinson, a defensive end from Texas (6’3”, 259 lbs.).

In the fifth round, the Vikings took Aundrae Alison, another wide receiver from East Carolina (6’0”, 198 lbs.). With their final two picks, the Vikings took Tyler Thigpen (6’3”, 225 lbs.), a quarterback from Coastal Carolina, and wide receiver Chandler Williams from Florida International (5’ 11”, 184 lbs.).

All in all I think the Vikings did a good job. I would give them a draft grade of B+.