By Sam Ekstrom
Adrian Peterson has returned. But you already knew that, didn’t you? You’ve probably already read the tweets boasting how Peterson will alleviate pressure on young quarterback Teddy Bridgewater, the way he’ll act as a diversion to open lanes for receivers Cordarrelle Patterson and Mike Wallace, how he’ll make the offensive line look its 2012 self again by slithering through impossibly small seams, and at last, Norv Turner gets to conduct an offense with elite running back talent – a luxury he hasn’t had since LaDainian Tomlinson left San Diego.
Everybody’s happy.
Except, maybe, for the two gentleman who – without doing anything wrong – were knocked a notch down the totem pole when they woke up Tuesday morning: Matt Asiata and Jerick McKinnon.
Asiata led the team in rushing last year with 570 yards in Peterson’s stead and scored 10 total touchdowns (nine on the ground), though he averaged just 3.5 yards per carry (37th in the NFL). For Asiata, his window for opportunity was small. Had Peterson been suspended any later in the season, McKinnon may have ready to step in as the No. 1 back, but with the third-round rookie still learning on the job, the undrafted Asiata got the nod beginning in Week 2. “A.D. is a big part of this offense,” Asiata said back in September, referencing Peterson’s “All Day” nickname, “and just being his backup is a big opportunity for me. I’m very blessed to be in this situation right now. I’m not happy with him being gone, but it’s another step for me and my family to do what we do and just play football.”
Therein lies the difference between Asiata and Peterson. The latter sat out a year and still raked in $8 million. The former is still at the family-feeding stage of his career. Asiata played a full season, touched the ball over 200 times and collected the veteran’s minimum of $570,000 – a nice sum, no doubt – but not a big enough nest egg that he could afford to walk away tomorrow.
If front offices doled out paychecks based on fantasy value, Asiata would have reason to ask for a raise. He was 16th in running back fantasy points last year, despite finishing 32nd in total yardage and 36th in yards per game in the NFL. Asiata benefited from the Vikings’ uncanny ability to get the ball down to exactly the 1-yard line, scoring four times from that distance. His longest rushing touchdown was a marathon in comparison – seven yards away.
While Asiata and Peterson would both be defined as bruisers, there remains a significant chasm between their skill levels. “There’s only one Adrian Peterson,” said former Vikings fullback Jerome Felton last September, “so they’re two completely different players.” Felton doesn’t lie. Peterson is a class ahead. He is one of the surest things in football when he gets the ball from inside the 5-yard line. His presence would seem to make Mr. Asiata’s service obsolete — a shame, really, considering Asiata’s superb work ethic and above average blocking.
The dream for Asiata – an unrestricted free agent this offseason – would be to cash in a Toby Gerhart-like contract. Peterson’s old backup got $4.5 million guaranteed from Jacksonville, which would likely be more than Asiata would command, but the Utah grad could still aspire for something larger than the one-year minimum. Asiata, assuming he makes the 53-man roster, needs to stay relevant enough to be a free-agent commodity in 2016.
It’s a different situation for Jerick McKinnon. The 2014 third-round pick has three years left on his deal and possesses an intriguing big-play ability that Asiata lacks. McKinnon’s longest run of 2014 went for 55 yards against Atlanta, and he delivered four runs of 20 yards or more – Asiata didn’t break 20 yards once.
But McKinnon, a FCS quarterback in his college days, continues to face the challenge of learning a new position that requires him to pass protect, as well as just being flat-out small. Ironically, McKinnon – at 5-foot-9 — withstood the hits on the field last year but injured his back lifting weights at the team facility, missing five games. In his 11 games on the field, however, McKinnon had occasional flashes. He ran for 4.8 yards per carry and compiled 538 yards. He was the anti-Asiata, though, ending the year without a touchdown to his name. McKinnon even had one credited to him against Atlanta, only to get it reversed. But again: fantasy value is not a calculation that matters. “I’ve been improving in areas like pass protection and other things besides running the ball,” said McKinnon after his breakout Week 4 game where he logged 135 rushing yards. “I think I can develop into an all-down kind of back.”
McKinnon was largely effective running between the 20-yard lines last year, and his soft hands made him a threat in the passing game. But “Jet” McKinnon’s biggest asset is that he complements Peterson, giving the Vikings a change-of-pace back to throw at defenses when Peterson needs a breather – the lightning to Peterson’s thunder, so to speak.
It’s not unrealistic to think that Asiata and McKinnon could both get a handful of touches per game in 2015, perhaps in alternating drives as they did last year. Maybe Asiata remains the go-to 1-yard-line specialist in a move that would cause A.P.’s fantasy owners to riot. Perhaps McKinnon is put in motion and used as a wild card to confuse defenses. But regardless of Asiata’s role or McKinnon’s role, they’ll both be backups, in Peterson’s shadow for at least this year. Keep this in mind: During the one game where Peterson, Asiata and McKinnon coexisted last season, Peterson ran the ball 21 times. Asiata and McKinnon carried it three times combined.
When Peterson exploded on Twitter last Thursday about the NFL’s non-guaranteed contracts, it was evident – if not explicitly expressed – that he was upset by his own contract status; three years and over $40 million left on a contract that wasn’t guaranteed whatsoever. But the true victims of this NFL practice are guys like Asiata and McKinnon, who will likely be working year-to-year for the rest of their career, not knowing where their paycheck may come from.
Sam Ekstrom is a staff writer for Cold Omaha at 105 The Ticket and a play-by-play broadcaster in Burnsville, Minn. Hear him on 105 The Ticket Sunday mornings from 8-10 a.m. on “The Wake Up Call.”