Adrian Peterson: I'm still the NFL's best running back

Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson slipped to No. 62 in NFL Network’s ranking of the Top 100 Players of 2015. This may be surprising to some considering Peterson only played one game in 2014.

Peterson is still plenty proud.

“There’s not too many players in general that miss a season and his peers vote him into the top 100,” he said recently, via the St. Paul Pioneer Press. “You tell me if (LeSean) McCoy and other running backs (would) miss a season and you tell me if they would still be voted into the top 100?”

When Peterson was asked if he had a problem with his ranking, he proclaimed that he is still the best running back in the NFL.

"Come on now," he said when asked if someone had taken his spot. "No."

Peterson returns to the Vikings after a rocky offseason that had him debating whether he wanted to keep playing with his current team. Peterson’s lofty goal is to now rush for at least 2,000 yards per season.

Should Peterson rush for more than 2,105 yards in one season at some point during the remainder of his career, he will break Hall of Famer running back Eric Dickerson’s single-season rushing record. This would only solidify Peterson’s self-proclamation. He slightly missed this mark in 2012 when he rushed for 2,097 yards after returning from ACL surgery he underwent the prior year.

If Peterson turns in another 2,000-plus rushing yard season in 2015, he will easily be a candidate to be voted the No. 1 player in the NFL when the list is released next summer. Based on what we have seen in Peterson’s Hall of Fame-worthy career, there is no reason to question him.

However, we are pretty sure the always-chirpy LeSean McCoy will have a response in relatively short order.

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