Adrian Peterson gets to work on being a more complete RB for Vikings Wholesale San Francisco 49ers Jerseys

For those of you keeping score at home -- and why wouldn't you be? -- it appears Adrian Peterson is as fit as ever as the Minnesota Vikings begin organized team activities (OTAs). The running back arrived in the Twin Cities on Monday evening, joining his teammates after several months of working out at his new gym in the Houston area, and Peterson cut an impressive picture on Wednesday, slicing through holes with his usual tenacity and saying afterward he felt like he was in better shape than when he rejoined the Vikings last June. cheap nfl jerseys

When pressed by a reporter to declare he was in the best shape of his life, Peterson assented, providing whatever value that designation carries in May (beyond a headline, of course).

"Here we go with the shape question again," Peterson joked, before adding, "Yeah, I'll say that [I'm in the best shape I've been]. I feel good."

But then we knew Peterson would be in shape. That was never really an issue. Of greater importance was what Peterson vowed to improve after the Vikings' playoff loss to the Seattle Seahawks, and what coach Mike Zimmer alluded to in March: whether the running back would become a more complete player in an offense that demands more versatility from him than it used to. Peterson said he wanted to curb his fumbling problems, but added he wanted to become a better receiver, pointing to teammate Jerick McKinnon as the standard for what a running back should be able to accomplish in the Vikings' passing game. Wholesale Tampa Bay Buccaneers Jerseys

On Wednesday, Peterson sounded as though he's been working on it. wholesale nfl jerseys

"It's really focusing on running the route tree, just being more agile in running routes and not as stiff," Peterson said. "You get out and you run routes. Whether it's after the workout, you get 10 routes in each -- whether it's a flat, or whether it's an option route -- we just kind of go through it. We just kind of pinpoint being patient, depending on what route in the concept is going to be called."

Peterson's compatibility with the Vikings' entire offense will be watched closely this spring and summer, and it should be; the running back was only targeted 36 times in 2015, according to ESPN Stats & Information, and he frequently came out of games for McKinnon or Matt Asiata on third downs. The Vikings are more dangerous with Peterson on the field -- particularly if they find ways to use Peterson and McKinnon at the same time -- and the more the running back can fit with how the offense has changed around quarterback Teddy Bridgewater, the better chance the Vikings have of boosting their production in 2016. Tampa Bay Buccaneers Jerseys

That means getting more comfortable in the shotgun, too, and Peterson seemed to think he still had some work to do there. On one shotgun run, Peterson said, "I thought I was being patient, but I felt myself kind of being a little too fast. The pace was too fast on it. ... On that play, there was a little more penetration, so that kind of sparked me to speed it up. But even in that instance, I still have to be a little more patient than I was." Wholesale Seattle Seahawks Jerseys

He became the first 30-something running back to win a rushing title in 11 years last season, and the things Peterson does best don't figure to slip in 2016. But Peterson's 10th year with the Vikings should probably be judged largely on other aspects of his game. He effectively set those terms with what he said after the Vikings' playoff loss. His 2016 season will likely be measured by how much he fulfills them.