Vikings running back Adrian Peterson led the league in rushing attempts last season with 327, marking the first time he’s led the league in that metric and the fourth time that he’s run the ball at least 314 times in a season.
Only a handful of running backs 30 or older have run the ball that many times in a season and many of them saw their production drop in subsequent seasons. Peterson showed no signs that such a drop was in his immediate future in 2015 and offensive coordinator Norv Turner says that none have presented themselves during training camp either.
“From this camp, I have not seen anything,” Turner said, via the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. “He’s got burst. He’s got such a quick start and we know he’s powerful in breaking tackles and running through. He finishes runs out here. We’ve all seen him take off and run the length of the field. ... Obviously, it’s training camp. But he keeps such good care of himself. And we did a good job last year of taking care of him through the season. He doesn’t look like he’s slowing down to me.”
Turner said earlier this summer that he expects to get Peterson about 20 carries a game, which is right on line from last season and would provide plenty of opportunities to test whether time is taking a toll on a player poised to move into the all-time top 10 in rushing yards.