The Minnesota Vikings will almost assuredly predicate much of their offense in 2015 on running back Adrian Peterson. While young franchise quarterback Teddy Bridgewater showed significant promise and gave ample reason for optimism last year, there's no denying he's still a work-in-progress and likely needs a strong running game if he's to develop as expected in NFL Year Two.
In short, if the Vikings are to make good on the renewed hype surrounding the franchise this year, Peterson will have to be the engine that drives Vikings offensive coordinator Norv Turner's unit.
While it won't be new territory for Peterson to see the lion's share of carries and then some, it could be that he's set to fill a new, or at least altered, role in Turner's scheme.
"With coach [Norv] Turner's offense, there's so much that he throws out there. So I'll be more involved in the passing game; being out wide, presenting myself for a checkdown," Peterson said recently, via the Star-Tribune.
Peterson, per Tom Carpenter of ESPN, has averaged 2.0 receptions per game over his eight-year NFL career. He's got 208 catches for 1,715 yards and five touchdowns during that span.
While catching passes has never seemed to be a negative aspect to his game - and let's be honest, there really aren't any negative aspect to his game - the notion of AP lined up out wide seems pretty ridiculous.
Still, while the Vikings do have a plethora of young talent comprising their receiving corps, much of it remains mostly unproven. Cordarrelle Patterson is working his way back from a down season and hoping to ingratiate himself to Bridgewater, Turner and head coach Mike Zimmer. Charles Johnson played well, albeit in limited time - in 12 games of action he recorded just 31 receptions for 475 yards and two touchdowns. Good production, but nothing that indicates he's necessarily ready to bust out in his second NFL season.
Jarius Wright has 90 receptions for 1,332 yards and seven touchdowns in three NFL seasons - numbers that would be a nice year for many other receivers. Of course, the lack of a true threat at quarterback during his Vikings career should be given plenty of consideration, but having yet to record more than 42 receptions in a single season is troubling.
Veteran Mike Wallace has, of course, been there and done that, but there's no telling what a couple of difficult seasons in Miami have done to his game and there's also no knowing how willing he'll be to help the younger guys make developmental strides.
In the end, don't be surprised if you see Peterson lining up all over the formation in 2015 as Turner looks to maximize the talent available to him and shepherd his young signal-caller through the transitional process from talented youngster to established starter.
