5 Players the 49ers Must Avoid in NFL Free Agency
By Ken Wang
Running Back Adrian Peterson
This is an obvious one, but it needs to be stated nonetheless. Fans across the league will see a superstar name like Adrian Peterson and immediately think that he’ll fit right in.
That stops here.
Peterson turns 32 in a few weeks, and is nowhere near the star running back he once was. 2016 was a small sample size, as he only played in two games before tearing a meniscus in his knee. But, during those two games, he ran the ball 31 times for 50 yards, caught two passes for seven yards and scored exactly zero touchdowns. That comes out to a 1.61 yard-per-carry average.
Yikes.
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His issue with the 49ers isn’t solely due to his lack of effectiveness as a runner. It’s because he’s an inept pass catcher. He has fewer than 2,000 receiving yards in his entire 10-year career. To put that in perspective, that’s almost 1,000 yards less than Frank Gore had in that same time span.
He also struggles in pass protection. Per ProFootballFocus, Peterson had only received an above-average pass protection grade once in his entire career. For someone as talented as Peterson is, that’s not good enough.
The 49ers need a running back that can complement Carlos Hyde. Even though he has the flashy name, Peterson doesn’t cut it.