After a lengthy public dispute, running back Adrian Peterson is back with the Minnesota Vikings and all is right with the football world. Assuming the 30-year-old ball carrier stays healthy after almost a year away from the NFL, the Vikings have a lot of offensive potential.
Quarterback Teddy Bridgewater is entering his second-year after an impressive rookie season. Mike Wallace has been added to a wide receiving corps that also includes Charles Johnson, who came on strong late last year, and Cordarrelle Patterson, who still has a lot of upside if he can ever put it all together. Backup running backs Jerick McKinnon and Matt Asiata combined for a solid season in Peterson's absence last year.
But which of these players will be most impacted by Peterson's presence?
"There are a lot of candidates who stand to benefit from Peterson's return..." ESPN Vikings reporter Ben Goessling wrote. "...I'd put Teddy Bridgewater at the top of the list, followed by Cordarrelle Patterson. According to ESPN Stats & Information, no quarterback threw against an eight-man front more often than Christian Ponder did from 2011-13, with Peterson lined up in the backfield. Bridgewater only attempted 11 such passes last year, and hit only three of them. If he gets more of those looks because of Peterson, he should have chances to burn single coverage. And with Patterson, you probably remember how much the Vikings looked like they wanted to use the jet sweep in Week 1 - and how much it went away when Peterson did. If defenses have to worry about Peterson, it creates more room for Patterson on the plays that made him a star as a rookie."
Bridgewater completed more than 70 percent of his passes through the last five games of the season in 2014. As Goessling notes, getting Peterson back should allow the young QB to exploit more single coverage. That's a dangerous proposition for opposing defenses facing an already highly accurate passer. As for Patterson, he could also benefit from being lined up in the pistol formation with AP and Bridgewater.
"The pistol would have two benefits: Bridgewater ran a lot of it in college, and it would position Peterson at his typical depth in the backfield, where he can start from 7-8 yards deep and hit the line of scrimmage with a full head of steam," Goessling wrote. "The Vikings could even pair Peterson with Jerick McKinnon or Cordarrelle Patterson to create more options in the backfield. Now, the Vikings will incorporate some of Peterson's traditional staples, but especially if they get Peterson involved in the passing game like they planned to do last year, they'll have myriad options for how they can line up."
The Vikings already produced a top 10 pass defense last season. If they can repeat that while also reincorporating Peterson and getting development elsewhere on the offense then they will be a trendy playoff pick come pre-season.
