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Redskins: How Adrian Peterson’s career has mirrored Marcus Allen’s

By Kyle Hundley

LANDOVER, MD - AUGUST 15: Adrian Peterson #26 of the Washington Redskins rushes with the ball in the first quarter against the Cincinnati Bengals during a preseason game at FedExField on August 15, 2019 in Landover, Maryland. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Images)
LANDOVER, MD - AUGUST 15: Adrian Peterson #26 of the Washington Redskins rushes with the ball in the first quarter against the Cincinnati Bengals during a preseason game at FedExField on August 15, 2019 in Landover, Maryland. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Images) /
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MIAMI, FLORIDA – OCTOBER 13: Adrian Peterson #26 of the Washington Redskins runs with the ball against the Miami Dolphins during the first quarter at Hard Rock Stadium on October 13, 2019 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
MIAMI, FLORIDA – OCTOBER 13: Adrian Peterson #26 of the Washington Redskins runs with the ball against the Miami Dolphins during the first quarter at Hard Rock Stadium on October 13, 2019 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) /

Similarities

While they played in two different eras, there are a lot of similarities between the two backs, even dating back to their college days.

Heisman success

Originally recruited to play defensive back, Marcus Allen would go on to have a legendary college career while at USC. After rushing for over 1,500 yards as a junior, Allen would win the Heisman trophy in 1981, rushing for 22 touchdowns and over 2,300 yards during an outstanding senior season. Allen finished his collegiate career with over 4,600 rushing yards and had 45 rushing touchdowns.

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Coming to Oklahoma as the No. 1 rated running back in the country, Peterson absolutely exploded onto the college scene, running for over 1,900 yards and scoring 15 rushing touchdowns as a true freshman. He would eventually finish as the Heisman runner-up, becoming the first freshman to do so. An incredible feat. This would be his best finish in the Heisman voting.

Top-10 draft picks

After winning the Heisman Trophy his senior season, Marcus Allen would go on to be drafted 10th overall by the Los Angeles Raiders in the 1982 NFL Draft.

After foregoing his senior season, Adrian Peterson would go on to be drafted seventh overall by the Minnesota Vikings in the 2007 NFL draft.

Became the focal point in their offenses

In the strike-shortened 1982 season, Allen scored a whopping 14 total touchdowns in just nine games. He rushed for 697 yards en route to winning NFL rookie of the year. From there, he saw his workload steadily increase each of his first four seasons, eventually carrying the ball 380 times in 1985. Great out of the backfield, Allen also had 237 receptions in his first four seasons. After his rookie season, he carried the ball over 200 times each of the next six seasons.

Peterson burst onto the NFL scene the same way he burst onto the college scene. As a rookie, he finished with 1,341 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns on 238 attempts, en route to winning the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year. The following season already had Peterson carrying the ball 363 times. In five of the next six seasons. Peterson had at least 279 carries, only missing the mark in his injury-shortened 2011 season. The Minnesota offense went through him, and it was no secret.

NFL MVPs

After a solid start to his career, Marcus Allen had his best season in 1985, winning the NFL MVP award at just 25 years old. During the season, Allen had 380 carries for 1,759 yards while adding 11 rushing touchdowns. He also had 67 receptions for 555 yards and three touchdowns. Allen helped lead the Raiders to a 12-4 record and the No. 1 seed in the AFC.

Peterson’s best season came in 2012. After tearing his ACL and having his season cut short the year prior, Peterson came back with a vengeance. On the season, he had 348 attempts for 2,097 yards and 12 touchdowns, winning the NFL MVP award. He was just eight yards shy of the single-season rushing record held by Eric Dickerson. Peterson also had 40 receptions for 217 yards and a touchdown. He helped the Vikings finish 10-6 and secure a wild card berth.

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