Quote:I said into his his 30s.

 

Tony Dorsett

Age 30: 1,648 total yards in 16 games.

Age 31: 1,756 total yards in 16 games.

Age 32: 1,011 total yards in 13 games.

 

Why can't Peterson follow a similar trajectory?

Keep in mind, Dorsett was 32 in 1986, the year Dallas added Herschel Walker.  Walker took a lot of carries away from Dorsett, who still averaged a decent 4.1 ypc that year.

 

There are arguments for AP being able to sustain productivity into his 30s.

 

He has already shown he is a physical freak by returning from the torn ACL in a very short time to eclipse 2000 yards rushing the following year.

 

He only played in one game last year due to the suspension.  That is a year's less of pounding.  He should be fresh coming into this season.

 

However, there are plenty of arguments against him being able to sustain a decent level of play.

 

Father time is undefeated against every player.  Though I think Peterson is a Hall of Fame caliber RB, the immutable laws of football physics apply to him, too.  More likely than not, there will be a steep decline in his performance within the next couple of seasons.

 

Being off that time last year can refresh him to a degree, but could also make him more susceptible to soft tissue injuries due to the long inaction.

 

Furthermore, if he came here and struggled behind our OL, which may still be in the transition stage, how could we tell if it is age or the poor OL that is causing his presumably substandard performance?

 

Finally, this is a deep RB class.  If we evaluate properly, we should get a productive RB (productive enough to command attention on play action) at a fraction of the cost AP would represent.  The RB may not be as productive as AP would be here in the first year, but longer term he'd likely be more productive.

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