Adrian Peterson ran away (pun intended) with Rookie of the Year honors, garnering 46.5 of the panel’s 50 votes. Joe Thomas was the only other rookie to get a vote. (He actually got 3.5.)
Where is Ryan Grant?
All right, hear me out.
Much is made of the numbers Peterson put up even though he didn’t crack the starting lineup until the sixth game. In the first five games, he averaged 19.2 carries, which are hardly backup numbers. Grant got all of six carries in the five games he appeared in before taking over as the Packers’ starter in week 8. Here are a few per game stats for each player, which compare Peterson’s 14-game performance to Grant’s 10-game stint as Green Bay’s starter:
Peterson: 115 total yards, 5.6 ypc, 0.9 TD
Grant: 105 total yards, 5.1 ypc, 0.8 TD
Here are their numbers over the last four games:
Peterson: 46 total yards, 2.7 ypc, 0.5 TD
Grant: 97 total yards, 5.5 ypc, 1.0 TD
By most accounts, Peterson played behind a much better offensive line and the 8-8 Vikings didn’t even make the playoffs. So much is made of the team’s record when the balloting is done for the MVP award, but it doesn’t seem to play a role in the voting for ROY. The Packers finished the season 13-3 and Grant was a major reason why defenses weren’t able to key on Brett Favre and Co. in the passing game.
I’m not saying that the wrong guy won the award – Peterson had a wonderful year and deserved the honor – but I think there’s enough of an argument for Grant that at least one panel member would have voted for him or at least split a vote between the two players.
