Vikings HC Leslie Frazier on how RB Adrian Peterson will be used early in the season: "He's so valuable to our organization that we have to be smart. We'll tread lightly as far as Week 1 and how much he'll contribute on the field. Even when we get to training camp, he's going to be chomping at the bit but we'll have to be smart."
We are not as high on Peterson as some, and this is why. What he is trying to do -- come back full bore in less than nine months after tearing his ACL -- is unprecedented. If he avoids PUP for the first six weeks of the season, we're expecting a reduced workload during the first quarter (or even half) of the season. And if the Vikings get off to a poor start, we wonder how much they'll push Peterson in the second half. He's a very risky pick in the early rounds.