Arizona Cardinals fans will have to wait to see rookie Jeremiyah Love, as it was announced he will be sitting out Thursday's Hall of Fame Game. Considering Arizona's run game finished 31st in rushing yards last season, it's safe to say anticipation is heightened to see the No. 3 overall selection in action.
The Cardinals took on a risk drafting Love that high, as they still have more valuable positions of need left to address. Still, the alternative of passing on the top offensive talent in the class would've come with risks of its own.
Arizona was actually in a similar position in the 2007 NFL Draft. You know, the one that had Adrian Peterson in it.
Adrian Peterson was surprised the Cardinals passed on him
Picking at No. 5, the Cardinals ultimately decided to pass on Peterson for offensive tackle Levi Brown out of Penn State. In a recent exclusive RotoGrinders interview with Cardinals insider Kyle Odegard, Peterson admitted his surprise that Arizona passed on him:
"Yep, I sure did. I was like, 'Hey, they've got Larry (Fitzgerald), a good squad.' And they had a void in the running back position room. I felt like, shoot, if I slip to 5, then Arizona is going to take me for sure. That didn't happen, and I was like, 'Damn, OK. Levi Brown?' I didn't really know Levi Brown like that. I ain't going to lie. In my mind I was like, 'They're going to take Levi Brown over me?' OK. It is what it is."
Sure, the decision makers aren't the same, but Monti Ossenfort faced a similar dilemma as the Cardinals organization once did in 2007, and wound up being the one to prioritize talent over positional value.
Did Arizona land the league's next Adrian Peterson?
We know how their decision to take the other route played out, with Peterson turning out to be one of the best running backs this league has ever seen. While expectations aren't quite that high for Love, Peterson did also tell Odegard that he sees similarities to his dominant rookie year in 2007:
"I could see him doing that. Watching him in college, he's an incredible talent. Really good vision. Agile. I feel like he has the potential to do that. The one thing that I can't vouch for is what type of work are these guys putting in? I know all about it because that's what my career was based on — getting out what you put in. From the looks of it, what he was able to do in college, he definitely has the ability to make an impact immediately."
From everything we've seen throughout college and now training camp, talent and work ethic won't be an issue with Love. That said, it'll still be hard for him to reach Peterson's rookie numbers of 1,341 rushing yards and 12 rushing touchdowns on 238 carries in 14 games played. Arizona's offense likely won't have enough red-zone opportunities for Love to reach double-digit rushing touchdowns, especially if he's sharing touches with Tyler Allgeier.
In general, Peterson's rookie season will be difficult to replicate because of Love's relatively limited opportunities. That's by design for a rebuilding Cardinals team that has no need to rush their franchise star into a bellcow role in what is a transitional season. Arizona made this pick for the long run because they couldn't live with the alternative that he does become the league's next Adrian Peterson somewhere else.
Huge shoes to fill, but Love is one of the few in the league who can even be in that conversation. And the Cardinals couldn't pass that up this time around.
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