If people knew what Adrian Peterson was capable of out of college, it’s safe to say he wouldn’t go to Minnesota.
Peterson fell to No. 7 in the 2007 draft and that’s when the Vikings took him. He was recently named the Vikings best player of the last decade by ESPN.
But what if people did know? Well, Bleacher Report recently did a re-draft of the 2007 class, and Peterson ended up going No. 2 overall to the Lions.
That left the Vikings at No. 7, still needing a running back. Bleacher Report had the team taking Marshawn Lynch. Here’s what it said about the pick:
“Not being able to draft a franchise icon in Adrian Peterson would be a real bummer for the Minnesota Vikings. It would also leave the team with a rather glaring void at running back.
Marshawn Lynch may not have had quite the NFL career that Peterson did. But he was no slouch, either. Over 13 seasons in the pros with the Buffalo Bills, Seattle Seahawks and Oakland Raiders, Lynch bulled his way to over 10,400 rushing yards. Six times over that span, he topped 1,000 yards on the ground, including a 1,590-yard effort in 2012.”
It would have been different and Lynch probably would have been worse than Peterson, but it is fun to think about how much it would have affected Minnesota’s run to the NFC Championship in 2009.
Does Lynch not put up good enough numbers to get the Vikings to that final game? Or does he rise to the occasion in the playoffs and make things go differently?
I don’t think Minnesota can complain, though, with taking Peterson. At the end of the day, he was the better player, and seeing him run around and oftentimes through defenders is probably still a fond memory for many Vikings fans.