Take your pick

It was apparent after Adrian Peterson’s first few carries during the preseason of his rookie year that the Vikings had something special.

As for the guy the Vikings picked in the second round 37 spots after Peterson – wide receiver Sidney Rice – there were occasional glimpses that he might be good. But few were thinking Rice could be the kind of impact player Peterson has been.

But in 2009 Rice indeed made an impact.

After Brett Favre, Rice was probably Minnesota’s second-best offensive player. And while it’s just one great season compared to Peterson’s two great (‘07 and ‘08) years and one pretty good year (‘09), it’s enough to make me wonder if Rice might eventually end up being the Vikings best draftee from 2007 – not A.P.

Now plenty of football fans might think I’m a bit loopy for suggesting that could happen. I mean, many experts have considered Peterson the NFL’s best running back since early in his rookie season. He’s been very productive no matter how bad the blocking has been and how bad the Vikings quarterbacks and receivers have been.

As for Rice, as well as he played in 2009, it was only one season – with Brett Favre throwing to him – and he has to prove he isn’t a one-year wonder. So how could I even think Rice might end up being the better draft pick?

Well, let me explain (although I think you know where I’m going with this).

NFL running backs do not have a long shelf life. Even the skills of the great ones fade by the time they are 29 or 30. And if you get eight or nine seasons out of them, you’ve done well.

Take LaDainian Tomlinson and Brian Westbrook – two of the best running backs of the past decade – for example. This winter both of them were released by the San Diego Chargers and the Philadelphia Eagles, respectively.

Tomlinson is 30. Westbrook is 30. Tomlinson has played nine NFL seasons. Westbrook has played eight NFL seasons. And now both are considered done as effective every-down backs. In fact, there’s no guarantee either guy will find an NFL team willing to employ them in 2010.

As for wide receivers, there is plenty of evidence that they can be productive every-down players beyond the age of 30. Randy Moss (32 years of age), Terrell Owens (34), Marvin Harrison (34), Rod Smith (35) and Jimmy Smith (36), Cris Carter (35), Tim Brown (36) and Jerry Rice (40!) all had outstanding years despite their advanced ages.

Which brings us back to Peterson and Rice.

Peterson will turn 25 on March 21, and unless he’s the exception, we can expect him to play five or six more seasons. And that’s assuming he can stay healthy and avoid the serious injuries that are often the byproduct of playing a position where you touch the ball (and get hit) 25 times per game.

As for Rice, he is more than a year younger than Peterson and he plays a less physically punishing position. It’s quite possible he could be a very good player until he’s 34, 35 or even older.

And if he consistently produces the kind of results he did in 2009 and plays four or five more seasons than Peterson, it’s quite possible that as great as Adrian Peterson has been his first three seasons, Sidney Rice may actually turn out to have been the more valuable player for the Vikings over the long haul.

Stop the presses
The Vikings have re-signed wide receiver Greg Lewis.

This is no biggie, but it means Lewis could be taking up a game-day roster sport that could have gone to Jaymar Johnson or someone else better than Lewis.

I kind of thought the Vikings might want to see if either Johnson or Darius Reynaud might be able to contribute a bit more as a fourth receiver in 2010 than Lewis.

Of course, if both those players have a great training camp and preseason catching the ball, the Vikings can easily release Lewis and no harm is done.