We've crunched the numbers and come up with 570 reasons the Vikings will take a running back as high as the third round in next month's NFL draft.
The first 538 represent the league-high discrepancy between Adrian Peterson's carries and the next-highest total by a Viking the past two years. To get a sense for just how huge that is, consider that No. 2 on the list is now-former Tennessee Titan Chris Johnson at 437. Only one other NFL back has a discrepancy higher than 383.
The next 29 reasons represent Peterson's age. It's hard to put Peterson in a statistical box when he's already gone superhuman and run for 2,097 yards just one season after knee reconstruction. But raise your hand if you're comfortable with Matt Asiata, a former undrafted fullback with 47 career carries, standing between Peterson and considerable data that support the obvious argument that most running backs peak at 27 and do not go gentle into that good night.
And the final three reasons represent the streak of consecutive offseason surgeries that Peterson is riding. Knee, hernia, groin is not a favorable trifecta.
The person who hatched this crazy notion that the Vikings will draft a running back fairly high asked Peterson if he's ever wondered how long he can play at his level and whether sharing carries more evenly would be beneficial.
"Not at all, man," Peterson said.
When Peterson joined the NFL in 2007, he spent a lot of time asking older veterans how they became, well, older veterans. Fullback Tony Richardson and left guard Steve Hutchinson had two of the brains that Peterson picked. They told him to take care of his body ASAP and never stop.
"Even Favre," Peterson said. "Brett wasn't a guy who got in the cold tub and iced his legs and did foam rollers [to loosen muscles] and things like that. But that's one thing I learned is you've got to take care of your body."