Always lots of positive talk at training camps. Coaches are always talking guys up, and everyone seems to be in career-best shape and headed for a career year. But Adrian Peterson takes it to another level.
I saw yesterday that Peterson was saying his goal is to run for 2,500 yards, and that he thinks he can play another six years. “I don’t see the end,” Peterson said. “I honestly feel I can play this game until I am 36 or 37 years old. And at a high level.”
Peterson is 30 right now, and he’s done some amazing things. He seems to be built a little different than other players. But it’s rare to see running backs putting up big numbers past 30. Most years some 30-year-old will run for 1,000 yards, but it’s rare to see players doing that at 31 or 32.
In NFL history, only 22 players older than 30 (as in, 31-plus years old) have run for over 1,000 yards.
Only five players older than 32 have gone for 1,000, and nobody’s done that in over 30 years. John Riggins and John Henry Johnson both did it twice, and Franco Harris managed to squeeze out 1,007 in 1983.
On this chart, ages are the player’s ages at the end of the calendar year. (That is, James Brooks has a December birthday, so he could be listed at 30 and 31 in his two big years, rather than up at 31 and 32.)
| PLAYERS OVER 30 RUNNING FOR 1,000 YARDS | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Player (age) | Att | Yards | Avg | TD |
| 2004 | Curtis Martin, NYJ (31) | 371 | 1,697 | 4.6 | 12 |
| 2006 | Tiki Barber, NYG (31) | 327 | 1,662 | 5.1 | 5 |
| 1985 | Walter Payton, Chi. (31) | 324 | 1,551 | 4.8 | 9 |
| 2009 | Thomas Jones, Chi. (31) | 331 | 1,402 | 4.2 | 14 |
| 1983 | • John Riggins, Wash. (34) | 375 | 1,347 | 3.6 | 24 |
| 1986 | Walter Payton, Chi. (32) | 321 | 1,333 | 4.2 | 8 |
| 1985 | Tony Dorsett, Dall. (31) | 305 | 1,307 | 4.3 | 7 |
| 2000 | Ricky Watters, Sea. (31) | 278 | 1,242 | 4.5 | 7 |
| 1989 | James Brooks, Cin. (31) | 221 | 1,239 | 5.6 | 7 |
| 1984 | • John Riggins, Wash. (35) | 327 | 1,239 | 3.8 | 14 |
| 2000 | Emmitt Smith, Dall. (31) | 294 | 1,203 | 4.1 | 9 |
| 2007 | Fred Taylor, Jac. (31) | 223 | 1,202 | 5.4 | 5 |
| 1962 | • John Henry Johnson, Pitt. (33) | 251 | 1,141 | 4.5 | 7 |
| 2006 | Warrick Dunn, Atl. (31) | 286 | 1,140 | 4.0 | 4 |
| 2009 | Ricky Williams, Mia. (32) | 241 | 1,121 | 4.7 | 11 |
| 2014 | Frank Gore, S.F. (31) | 255 | 1,106 | 4.3 | 4 |
| 1964 | • John Henry Johnson, Pitt. (35) | 235 | 1,046 | 4.5 | 7 |
| 1989 | Ottis Anderson, NYG (32) | 325 | 1,023 | 3.1 | 14 |
| 2001 | Emmitt Smith, Dall. (32) | 261 | 1,021 | 3.9 | 3 |
| 2005 | Mike Anderson, Den. (32) | 239 | 1,014 | 4.2 | 12 |
| 1983 | • Franco Harris, Pitt. (33) | 279 | 1,007 | 3.6 | 5 |
| 1990 | James Brooks, Cin. (32) | 195 | 1,004 | 5.1 | 5 |
—Ian Allan