No waiting: Adrian Peterson should be headed to Hall in first year of eligibility
While Jared Allen had to show patience, Peterson's statistics make it likely voters won't make him wait. Also, Hall of Fame thoughts on Kevin Williams and Harrison Smith.
The list of former Vikings players elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame grew to 14 on Thursday night when Jared Allen was named as a member of the four-person Class of 2025 during the NFL Honors show in New Orleans.
Allen began his career with the Chiefs but was traded to the Vikings in 2008 after four seasons and became a key part of Minnesota’s defense. Allen recorded 85.5% of his career 136 sacks with the Vikings, including 14.5 with the 2009 team that went to the NFC title game and a franchise-record 22 in 2011.
The defensive end finished his 12-year career playing two seasons in Chicago and one in Carolina. Allen’s success, however, didn’t get him quick entry into the Hall. He was a finalist in each of his first four years of eligibility before finally getting in.
But now that he will be getting his gold jacket during the induction ceremony on Aug. 2 in Canton, Ohio, here’s a look at who likely will be the next former Viking to go into the Hall, one who appears certain to fall short and an active Viking who could someday get his moment in Canton.
WHO’S NEXT?
Adrian Peterson will be eligible beginning in 2027, joining a list that will include wide receiver Antonio Brown, cornerback Richard Sherman, tight end Rob Gronkowski, offensive tackle Andre Whitworth and quarterbacks Ben Roethlisberger and Cam Newton.
Peterson, the seventh-pick in the 2007 draft by the Vikings, ranks fifth all-time in the NFL in rushing yards with 14,918 on 3,230 attempts and 120 touchdowns. He is the Vikings’ all-time leader in rushing yards (11,747), attempts (2,418), touchdowns (97) and yards per game (95.5). How dominant was Peterson? He accumulated 4,929 more yards on the ground than Robert Smith, who previously held the Vikings mark.
If the history of voting by the Hall of Fame selection committee is any indication, Peterson is going to be elected in his first year of eligibility. Three of the four running backs ahead of Peterson on the rushing list — Emmitt Smith (first), Walter Payton (second) and Barry Sanders (fourth) — all were elected the first year they became eligible. The third player is Frank Gore and he won’t be eligible for induction until 2026.
Peterson led the NFL in rushing three times with the Vikings, including in 2012 when he became the seventh player in league history to rush for 2,000 or more yards (2,097) and averaged 131.1 yards a game to earn MVP honors. That came after he tore the ACL and MCL in his left knee in a Christmas Eve game in Washington in 2011. Peterson is the last non-quarterback to win MVP.
He also was named first-team All-Pro four times, second-team twice and was elected to seven Pro Bowls.
If you are wondering about Peterson’s off-the-field issues in recent years, or the fact he was suspended for the final 15 games of 2014 in a child abuse case, know this: Hall of Fame voters aren’t allowed to use off-the-field issues to keep a player out.
If voters follow the guidelines, Peterson should be having a Hall of Fame bust crafted in his image in two years.
IT DOESN’T LOOK GOOD FOR …
Defensive tackle Kevin Williams put together an impressive resume during his 13-year NFL career, but it hasn’t been enough to get him near the Hall. Williams spent his first 11 seasons with the Vikings before one year stops in New Orleans in 2014 and Seattle in 2015. He became eligible for the Hall in 2021, but has yet to even become a semifinalist.
Williams, picked ninth overall by the Vikings in 2003, was a six-time Pro Bowl selection and, more impressively, a first-team Associated Press All-Pro choice on five occasions. Four of them came consecutively from 2006 to 2009.
Williams, who was listed at 6-foot-5, 311 pounds, was a force in the middle for the Vikings and paired with nose tackle Pat Williams from 2005 to 2010 to form “The Williams Wall.” The pair made running against Minnesota nearly impossible.
John Turney of Talk of Fame Two wrote an interesting piece on Williams’ Hall of Fame case last April, including a variety of stats on what he meant to the Vikings’ defense. This included: