The Minnesota Viking’s Adrian Peterson has established himself as the one of the more dominate running backs this season. Not only does he deserve the NFL Rookie of the Year award but I think it is fair to say that he may even contend for the Most Valuable Player Award. Here are the top 3 reasons why he can win the 2007 NFL MVP.

1)      On Pace to Eclipse 2000 Yards Rushing. Through the first 6 games of the season Adrian has over 1000 yards rushing. If he were to continue his current pace he would join only three running backs to ever achieve that feet, Eric Dickerson, Jamal Lewis and Barry Sanders. In each instance only 1 (Jamal Lewis) did not win NFL MVP. Clearly, if Adrian can get to 2000 yards rushing in a season I think that alone should give him the award.

2)      All Time Single Game Rushing Leader. Against a pretty good San Diego defense, A.P. lit them up for an NFL record 296 rushing yards from the line of scrimmage. You would think that would be a major accomplishment by the opposing running back, L.T. or even a Larry Johnson, but that was accomplished by an NFL rookie that has only played in 8 NFL games. Not a bad way to start a career!

3)      Most Outstanding NFL Rookie Ever to Play. That is a very bold statement when comparing A.P. to the likes of an Eric Dickerson, Barry Sanders or Emmitt Smith, who all had fabulous rookie seasons. What separates Adrian from those Hall of Famers is the fact that he will be the only NFL Rookie RB to have rushed for more yards in a season, most 200 yard rushing games (2 so far), and accumulate more yards from the line of scrimmage (On pace for 2800+ for the season). Clearly, when you compare what has happened and what Adrian is doing is clearly compelling.

Well the facts speak for itself, but what is most intriguing of what Adrian has accomplished this far into the season is he has done without a passing game. As a result, he has accumulated 75% of his yards against defenses that have thrown 8 defenders in the box. That to me is the most convincing of all of his accomplishments.

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