Adrian Peterson was at one point the most feared running back in the NFL. While he is no longer that superstar back that he once was, he has still been very productive over the last couple of seasons with the Washington Redskins.
During the 2019 season with the Redskins in 15 games, Peterson carried the football 211 times for 898 yards and five touchdowns. He also caught 17 passes for 142 yards. Those numbers show that Peterson is still more than capable of being a true No. 1 running back, although his role under Jay Gruden in the first part of the season was incredibly inconsistent.
At 34 years old, Peterson has one year left on his contract with the Redskins. There is a potential out, but it wouldn't be surprising to see new head coach Ron Rivera want to keep the veteran around for one more season.
Washington ended up finishing the season with a 3-13 record. It was a rough year, to say the least, but the future is looking bright with Rivera leading the way. Dwayne Haskins showed flashes of being a franchise caliber quarterback and Derrius Guice also looked good in his second season in the backfield, despite having more injury concerns.
All of that being said, let's dive in and take a look at Peterson's season for the Redskins and give him a grade for the year he had.
Peterson can no longer be a “workhorse” back in the NFL. He can be a solid option on first and second down, but his days as a third-down dual-threat running back are over. In fact, Peterson has never really been a third-down back, which is not what the league is heading towards.
Despite that fact, Peterson can provide teams with the kind of hard-nosed running that is still very important. Washington should absolutely hold on to him for another season to finish out his contract.
His numbers aren't amazing, but they aren't bad either. He averaged 4.3 yards per carry, which is what teams need out of their backfield. Peterson still is more than capable of breaking tackles and picking up important yards after contact.
Expect to see Peterson have a couple more solid seasons left in him. He has talked about wanting to play until he is 40 years old, but that may be a bit far-fetched.
Grading his season isn't an easy task, but let's go ahead and give it a shot.
Adrian Peterson's 2019 NFL Season Grade: B+
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