Fantasy Football: Tomlinson v.s Peterson

The Fantasy season has arrived and as owners begin to mock draft, form their strategies, and get set to dominate their leagues (or lose terribly), the question that is on everyones mind is, Who should go #1 in all fantasy drafts?  San Diego Running Back Ladainian Tomlinson or Minnesota Running Back Adrian Peterson? Both of these plow shares have a huge case for them. Peterson, last year’s rookie sensation. Tomlinson, the top running back for the last two years. So how does one decide who should go first?

Ladainian Tomlinson: Running Back, San Diego Chargers
Strengths:
-5 consecutive seasons with at least 1,750 yards and 17-plus touchdowns
-Running style designed to take less punishment.
-Misses a game once every 7 years, the most durable back in the game.
-Great vision and quickness.
-The central focus of the Charger’s offense, he will see the ball.
-Not only can he rush for touchdowns, but he can pass for them too, 7 career passing touchdowns.
-The top running back in the NFL in both rushing yards and rushing touchdowns for the last two years.
-Defense intercepts the ball to get it back for the offense giving Tomlinson more chances for carries.
-Plays in a relatively easy division, the AFC West

Weaknesses:
-More targets in the passing game with pro-bowl tight end Antonio Gates, Wide-Out Chris Chambers, and emerging star Vincent Jackson, Tomlinson will see the ball, but will have less carries then before.
-Coming off a bad knee injury that forced him to miss the AFC Championship Game last season.
-Will no longer be running behind Pro-Bowl Fullback Lorenzo Neal, thus making it more difficult to find the holes.
-He’s a 7 season old Running Back coming into his 8th season, which is reaching old geezer land for running backs. 


Adrian Peterson: Running Back, Minnesota Vikings
Strengths:
-Last year’s rookie of the year
-Runs behind the best offensive line in football
-Finished his rookie campaign with 1,341 yards and 13 touchdowns averaging 5.6 yards per carry in 14 games
-Ran for 2 200-plus yard games and nearly a 300 yard game.
-Set the record for most rushing yards in a single game
-Bad passing game allows for an increased role in the offense
-Team strategy is based on winning games with defense and an un-matched rushing attack
-A young running back with a higher ceiling then any other player in the game
-Hard to bring down when he gets going
-Gets massive yardage in kickoff returns

Weaknesses:
-Durability questionable, has missed games in each of the last 4 years (missed games in each of his 3 years at Oklahoma and in his rookie season with Minnesota)
-Sophomore Slump possible
-Running style designed to take punishment, not good for the long haul
-Backup Chester Taylor will take carries away from him
-Lacks the experience of an NFL back this early in his career
-Key off-season additions to the passing game, could take the ball out of Peterson’s hands
-Defense that scores points, taking the ball out of the offense’s hands
-Plays in the NFC North Division against tough defenses in Green Bay and Chicago
- Lost the fantasy match-up to Tomlinson last year by almost two fantasy points per game

Final Analysis:
Ladainian Tomlinson may be getting up there in age, but regardless of that, he is still an elite all-pro running back. Adrian Peterson simply does not have the experience to match LT. When Peterson is healthy, he is without a doubt the best running back in the game, but the problem is that he is rarely healthy. Should you decide to take Peterson as your number one pick, remember you are taking a chance in his ability to stay healthy over the course of the year. Tomlinson is coming off an injury which raises concerns of the type of year he may have, but for the first time since his rookie campaign, Tomlinson will be taking snaps in the preseason. This shows he is determined to win it all this year and get things going early. Regardless of who gets picked first, both men will most likely have a tremendous year and it will be a year of fun football to watch. If you are lucky enough to pick first, its not a bad scenario picking between these two. I suggest taking consistency over flash any day. On draft day, if I got that number one pick, I’m going with Ladainian Tomlinson.