Fantasy football is a nationwide phenomenon that has grown rapidly in popularity over the last couple decades. Over twenty million people a year participate in the highly addictive, highly competitive contest of football savvy (Staff). This billion dollar industry thrives on pitting friends against each other in annual battles of wit and luck to determine who has the greatest insight on football knowledge. .
Every year, this contest begins with the draft, where the most elite players from all corners of the NFL are selected to represent their owners on a weekly basis. Now the question remains, "Who is the number one overall pick of the 2013 fantasy football draft?" It is none other number twenty-eight, Adrian Peterson, the elite running back from the Minnesota Vikings. Out of all the worthy candidates in the NFL, Adrian Peterson is the number one overall pick in this year's fantasy draft because he has the greatest production value of any running back in the league, the Minnesota Viking's offense completely revolves around him, and the need for a reliable, high-performance running back over elite quarterbacks is more important than ever.
To cut a long story short, Adrian Peterson is the best running back in the NFL right now. Statistically, Peterson is leaps and bounds ahead of every other running back in terms of raw production. According to ESPN, the worldwide leader in sports news and coverage, Adrian Peterson led the NFL last year in rushing yards and yards from scrimmage, with 2,097 yards and 2,314 yards, respectively ("Rushing Yards Leaders"). Alfred Morris, who rushed for the second most yards last year, produced 1,613 yards, over 400 yards less than Peterson. What is even more amazing about Peterson is that he accomplished all this after having major surgery on his left knee at the end of the previous season. In late December of the 2011 regular season, Peterson suffered an ACL and MCL tear in his left knee after taking a hard tackle from Washington Redskin's safety Dejon Gomes (Siebert).
