Viktor
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- Mar 19, 2019
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Pair of former Vikings projected for NFL 2010s All-Decade Team
We’re just days away from the turn of the decade, and the NFL will later announce the 2010s All-Decade team.
But ahead of the official announcement, NFL.com’s Chris Wesseling projected whom he believes should be on the prestigious list. He included a pair of former Vikings: Adrian Peterson at running back and Cordarrelle Patterson at kick returner. Peterson and Patterson currently are with Washington and Chicago, respectively.
Wesseling wrote the following of Peterson, who was drafted seventh overall by the Vikings in 2007 and spent his first 10 NFL seasons in Minnesota.
No running back has nabbed more than two first-team All-Pros in the decade. Peterson and LeSean McCoy are the backs with the highest peak as well as the most production. While McCoy is the decade’s leader in yards from scrimmage (13,923), Peterson ranks in the top six with 11,135. More importantly, Peterson was twice the NFL rushing champion while nearly toppling Eric Dickerson’s long-standing single-season record in a magical 2012 MVP season that stands as the most impressive display of power and speed in the past decade. Peterson was not only the first rushing leader to average at least 6 yards per carry since Barry Sanders in 1997, but he also led esteemed NFL Films analyst Greg Cosell to declare that 2012 campaign the greatest individual offensive season in NFL history. “I’ve been doing this a long time,” Cosell explained. “I’m usually not wowed when I watch stuff. I’m wowed when I watch [Peterson].”
The Vikings are currently prepping to face Patterson, who was drafted 29th overall by Minnesota in 2013 and played four seasons for the Vikings.
Patterson ranks first in kick-return yards (6,101), kick-return touchdowns (7) and kick-return average (29.9) this decade. While legendary return ace Devin Hester remained explosive enough in his decline phase to top the punt-return charts, Patterson is the definitive returner of the decade – bigger, stronger and faster than the competition. In fact, he might just be the greatest era-adjusted kickoff returner in NFL history.