The Saints traded a 2018 second-round pick to the 49ers in order to draft running back Alvin Kamara in the third round last weekend in a move that came shortly after the team signed Adrian Peterson as a free agent.
Given the price the Saints paid to get Kamara, it’s a good bet they have a plan to use him on offense. With Mark Ingram already on hand, that makes for a more crowded backfield than the ones Peterson was a part of with the Vikings. Those teams generally featured Peterson as a bell cow, but things will be more spread out in New Orleans.
On Tuesday, Peterson told reporters that he’s comfortable with that arrangement because he wasn’t expecting anything else when he signed with a Saints team that’s always utilized a variety of backs under Sean Payton.
“I knew what I was getting myself into,” Peterson said, via Mike Triplett of ESPN.com.
Peterson also said that he was approached by a couple of other teams about visiting after the draft, but felt “love and energy” with the Saints that led him to sign with the team last month. He also saw the potential benefits of playing on an offense quarterbacked by Drew Brees, saying he wonders “what will the opposing team do” to defend both the run and pass.
The first team to offer an answer in the regular system will be Peterson’s former team and he said Tuesday that joining the Saints “was meant to be” when he saw the Vikings would be New Orleans’ opponent in Week One.