Minnesota Vikings: Adrian Peterson Having Career Season, Proving Doubters Wrong

Right before the start of the 2012 NFL season, what us NFL fans usually do is partake in a nationwide craze: fantasy football.

Many who participate in fantasy football go crazy either paying ridiculous amounts for programs that will help out their draft, hours of mock drafts or reading countless fantasy "expert" recommendations, all of that so we can be prepared for draft day.

So it baffled me when I saw Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson being selected in the second round.

This is the same running back who shredded his left knee eight months earlier on Christmas Eve. There was no way Adrian Peterson would have been ready to make his return back to the football field so soon, and when he was, he would not be the same dominant back that he used to be, right? Was this guy insane?

Well, it looks like the jokes on me—with the kind of monster season that Adrian Peterson is having, the pick doesn't look so stupid anymore.

Adrian Peterson is on pace to having the best season of his career. His return to prominence has been remarkable. Through nine games so far, Peterson has gained 957 yards through the ground (1,107 yards from scrimmage) with six touchdowns, averaging 5.7 yards per carry. He has shown speed, agility and power while running the ball. Something no one thought he would be able to do this season.

Last week, against the Seattle Seahawks, Peterson made a pretty good defense look silly, finishing the game with 182 rushing yards and two touchdowns. It capped his third straight 100-yard rushing game.

Peterson has wowed this season, and not only for his play on the football field. He has done the almost impossible—coming back from an ACL tear in less than a year, and looking even better than before he suffered the injury.

What ACL tear?

The way Peterson is playing, it's non-existent. And he may be on his way to having the best season of his career.

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