Adrian Peterson: Can he catch, or can’t he? That’s one of the big questions waiting to be answered in New Orleans, with the Saints liking to send plenty of passes to their running backs.
Peterson has generally been an unproductive in passing game. But he addressed that issue at the team’s OTA this week, arguing that it’s been more an issue of him being underused and not utilized properly during the bulk of his career in Minnesota. They’ve cycled through a lot of lesser quarterbacks and limited schemes.
But Peterson points out in an article posted at NOLA.com that he caught 77 passes in his two seasons playing with Brett Favre.
"It's all about having a guy that's going to get the ball to you, and without a doubt I know (Drew) Brees is going to," Peterson said. "We'll be doing that."
Sounds reasonable enough.
Over the last five years, Peterson has posted lesser receiving numbers. He’s averaged only 4.7 yards per pass play. Of the 61 running backs with at least 100 targets in that span, only three running backs have been less effective. But one (Jerick McKinnon) is another Minnesota running back. Either he’s also a really poor receiver, or the structure of the offense has played a role.
In Peterson’s two years with Favre, he averaged 7.3 yards per pass play. That would be better than all but five of those 61 receivers.
Sounds like there’s at least a chance that Peterson is better as a pass catcher than many (including myself) have given him credit for.
| RUNNING BACK RECEIVING (last 5 years) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Tgts | No | Yards | Avg | Pct | Avg |
| DeAngelo Williams | 136 | 102 | 1049 | 10.3 | 75.0% | 7.7 |
| Roy Helu | 112 | 89 | 848 | 9.5 | 79.5% | 7.6 |
| David Johnson | 177 | 116 | 1336 | 11.5 | 65.5% | 7.5 |
| Joique Bell | 218 | 162 | 1638 | 10.1 | 74.3% | 7.5 |
| Charles Sims | 129 | 94 | 941 | 10.0 | 72.9% | 7.3 |
| Peterson (2009-10) | 107 | 79 | 777 | 9.8 | 73.8% | 7.3 |
| Knowshon Moreno | 101 | 82 | 723 | 8.8 | 81.2% | 7.2 |
| Danny Woodhead | 262 | 207 | 1875 | 9.1 | 79.0% | 7.2 |
| Duke Johnson | 148 | 114 | 1048 | 9.2 | 77.0% | 7.1 |
| LeVeon Bell | 291 | 227 | 2005 | 8.8 | 78.0% | 6.9 |
| James White | 145 | 105 | 984 | 9.4 | 72.4% | 6.8 |
| Giovani Bernard | 247 | 187 | 1671 | 8.9 | 75.7% | 6.8 |
| Eddie Lacy | 134 | 101 | 900 | 8.9 | 75.4% | 6.7 |
| Marshawn Lynch | 143 | 109 | 959 | 8.8 | 76.2% | 6.7 |
| Pierre Thomas | 203 | 170 | 1329 | 7.8 | 83.7% | 6.5 |
| Ahmad Bradshaw | 101 | 78 | 651 | 8.3 | 77.2% | 6.4 |
| Devonta Freeman | 200 | 157 | 1265 | 8.1 | 78.5% | 6.3 |
| Theo Riddick | 224 | 171 | 1410 | 8.2 | 76.3% | 6.3 |
| Marcel Reece | 228 | 156 | 1434 | 9.2 | 68.4% | 6.3 |
| James Starks | 126 | 94 | 786 | 8.4 | 74.6% | 6.2 |
| LeSean McCoy | 275 | 216 | 1715 | 7.9 | 78.5% | 6.2 |
| Shane Vereen | 259 | 177 | 1612 | 9.1 | 68.3% | 6.2 |
| Matt Forte | 385 | 294 | 2394 | 8.1 | 76.4% | 6.2 |
| Benny Cunningham | 121 | 93 | 752 | 8.1 | 76.9% | 6.2 |
| Travaris Cadet | 137 | 102 | 840 | 8.2 | 74.5% | 6.1 |
| Mike Tolbert | 126 | 94 | 771 | 8.2 | 74.6% | 6.1 |
| C.J. Anderson | 104 | 75 | 635 | 8.5 | 72.1% | 6.1 |
| Andre Ellington | 165 | 112 | 999 | 8.9 | 67.9% | 6.1 |
| Darren Sproles | 410 | 293 | 2473 | 8.4 | 71.5% | 6.0 |
| C.J. Spiller | 176 | 135 | 1058 | 7.8 | 76.7% | 6.0 |
| Donald Brown | 102 | 73 | 606 | 8.3 | 71.6% | 5.9 |
| Trent Richardson | 156 | 113 | 912 | 8.1 | 72.4% | 5.8 |
| Rashad Jennings | 196 | 149 | 1145 | 7.7 | 76.0% | 5.8 |
| DeMarco Murray | 294 | 242 | 1716 | 7.1 | 82.3% | 5.8 |
| Kyle Juszczyk | 132 | 97 | 769 | 7.9 | 73.5% | 5.8 |
| Jamaal Charles | 243 | 168 | 1411 | 8.4 | 69.1% | 5.8 |
| Doug Martin | 174 | 121 | 1007 | 8.3 | 69.5% | 5.8 |
| Shaun Draughn | 104 | 80 | 597 | 7.5 | 76.9% | 5.7 |
| Fred Jackson | 239 | 179 | 1362 | 7.6 | 74.9% | 5.7 |
| Jacquizz Rodgers | 180 | 148 | 1024 | 6.9 | 82.2% | 5.7 |
| Lamar Miller | 191 | 148 | 1075 | 7.3 | 77.5% | 5.6 |
| Reggie Bush | 208 | 140 | 1160 | 8.3 | 67.3% | 5.6 |
| Frank Gore | 186 | 127 | 1030 | 8.1 | 68.3% | 5.5 |
| Mark Ingram | 175 | 138 | 966 | 7.0 | 78.9% | 5.5 |
| Matt Asiata | 132 | 101 | 722 | 7.1 | 76.5% | 5.5 |
| Ryan Mathews | 141 | 107 | 771 | 7.2 | 75.9% | 5.5 |
| Arian Foster | 190 | 128 | 1032 | 8.1 | 67.4% | 5.4 |
| Chris Ivory | 102 | 72 | 551 | 7.7 | 70.6% | 5.4 |
| Latavius Murray | 119 | 91 | 639 | 7.0 | 76.5% | 5.4 |
| Chris Johnson | 149 | 108 | 786 | 7.3 | 72.5% | 5.3 |
| Chris Thompson | 117 | 90 | 616 | 6.8 | 76.9% | 5.3 |
| Jonathan Stewart | 103 | 73 | 541 | 7.4 | 70.9% | 5.3 |
| Steven Jackson | 130 | 92 | 680 | 7.4 | 70.8% | 5.2 |
| Bilal Powell | 246 | 169 | 1280 | 7.6 | 68.7% | 5.2 |
| T.J. Yeldon | 114 | 86 | 591 | 6.9 | 75.4% | 5.2 |
| Ray Rice | 156 | 119 | 799 | 6.7 | 76.3% | 5.1 |
| Chris Ogbonnaya | 107 | 72 | 530 | 7.4 | 67.3% | 5.0 |
| Ronnie Hillman | 110 | 74 | 524 | 7.1 | 67.3% | 4.8 |
| Peterson (2012-16) | 136 | 104 | 636 | 6.1 | 76.5% | 4.7 |
| Darren McFadden | 201 | 138 | 923 | 6.7 | 68.7% | 4.6 |
| Jerick McKinnon | 123 | 91 | 563 | 6.2 | 74.0% | 4.6 |
| Justin Forsett | 148 | 113 | 621 | 5.5 | 76.4% | 4.2 |
—Ian Allan