Adrian Peterson Indicted

Where does Peterson rank in terms of star power in the NFL? It's such a quarterback-receiver league now. This is a huge story, don't get me wrong, but I'm not sure how many non-fans were aware of him before this week, as unbelievable as that is. There was a time when guys like Walter Payton or Emmit Smith were the biggest names in the game, or at least top 3 or 4. I can't imagine that Peterson is in the top 10-15, is he? Maybe not the top 20. Almost every quarterback who has started a full season would be ahead of him.

 

Clearly Peterson is lost without Toby Gerhart's calming influence.

 

He was the league MVP in 2012 and had several endorsement contracts. He would have been the cover of Madden last year if EA Sports hadn't gone retro for its 25-year anniversary.

 

He's arguably the biggest star among running backs. The only other RB who might first come to mind among non-fans is Marshawn Lynch, and that's because he was on the Super Bowl champs last season.

But AP is a recent MVP winner and a 2,000-yard rusher, so I'd say he's fairly high up the list. Maybe not top 10, but I think he'd be top 20.

 

Not sure about non-fans, but among those who buy NFL jerseys, Peterson (14th) ranked behind Bridgewater in jersey sales, as of July.

 

He rushed for more than 2,000 yards in 2012 -- only months after suffering a gruesome knee injury. He fell 9 yards shy of breaking Dickerson's NFL record.

I know memories are short around here but he is a significant name. Huge. To rabid fans and casual NFL fans.

You really believe EJ Manuel, Andy Dalton, Chad Henne, Alex Smith, Ryan Tannehill, Matt Cassel, Geno Smith, etc. have more star power than Peterson?

 

The NFL and its Owners are heading down a very slippery slope caving to media and PR pressure's. There were reasons you let Due Process run its coarse before handing down punishments for decades. Whole new can of worms is going to occur by setting these new precidents ( false accusations , extortions for $) with NFL players. That I have no doubt.

 

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He's the best running back of the last decade. Easily top 10, top 5 could be argued.

 

1. Manning
2. Brady
3. Brees
4. Rodgers
5. Peterson

 

One step further, the only current QBs with MORE star power than Peterson would be the Mannings, Brady, Brees, Rodgers, Roethlisberger, Cam Newton, RGIII, and maybe Romo.

Peterson is every bit the star that, say, Kaepernick, Wilson, Cutler and Matt Ryan are.

 

So, he's less popular than Michael Sam?

 

That's an unsettling thought and certainly is possible.

But so far the three biggies (Rice, Peterson, Hardy) have each involved an arrest and/or video and/or photos and/or at least partially going through the legal process.

We haven't seen a simple case of accusation-boom-suspension . . . yet.