this is a really interesting question considering how impressive both players have been through 9 weeks.
if you are a struggling franchise that had the opportunity to select one or the other in a hypothetical re-draft tomorrow, who would you take?
the argument for adrain peterson:
absolutely mind boggling rookie season and a kid who has superstar written all over him. ability to run hard inside but also has speed outside. he has the chance to go the distance every single time he touches the football. if not the best back to come into the league in 5-7 years, certainly the 2nd best behind tomlinson.
the argument for joe thomas:
a franchise left tackle makes your entire offense better, allowing you to run the football while giving your quarterback time to throw downfield (in this case, to guys like edwards and winslow). browns threw the ball 43 times against an aggressive seattle defense. and derek anderson, who is not very mobile, was not sacked once. the offensive line has not looked this good in cleveland in almost over a decade and thomas is front and center.
some would also argue that you can find a capable running back in free agency or in the 2nd/3rd/4th round of the draft but franchise left tackles dont come along often. but then when you see adrian peterson play, you see he is just not your ordinary running back. then again, the browns are nowhere near 5-3 if anderson doesnt have time to throw the ball and lewis doesnt have room to get the tough yards. tough decision for sure. before the draft, i felt peterson was hands down the best player to come out. but now it seems as though peterson and thomas are 1 and 1a.
if you are a struggling franchise that had the opportunity to select one or the other in a hypothetical re-draft tomorrow, who would you take?
the argument for adrain peterson:
absolutely mind boggling rookie season and a kid who has superstar written all over him. ability to run hard inside but also has speed outside. he has the chance to go the distance every single time he touches the football. if not the best back to come into the league in 5-7 years, certainly the 2nd best behind tomlinson.
the argument for joe thomas:
a franchise left tackle makes your entire offense better, allowing you to run the football while giving your quarterback time to throw downfield (in this case, to guys like edwards and winslow). browns threw the ball 43 times against an aggressive seattle defense. and derek anderson, who is not very mobile, was not sacked once. the offensive line has not looked this good in cleveland in almost over a decade and thomas is front and center.
some would also argue that you can find a capable running back in free agency or in the 2nd/3rd/4th round of the draft but franchise left tackles dont come along often. but then when you see adrian peterson play, you see he is just not your ordinary running back. then again, the browns are nowhere near 5-3 if anderson doesnt have time to throw the ball and lewis doesnt have room to get the tough yards. tough decision for sure. before the draft, i felt peterson was hands down the best player to come out. but now it seems as though peterson and thomas are 1 and 1a.
