Even after Adrian Peterson left the Vikings, he and Jerick McKinnon remained teammates in one place.
At the gym Peterson owns in Houston, the running backs spent much of the offseason training together. At O Athletik, they ran up and down a two-story constructed hill, worked on a track and lifted weights.
The Vikings announced in the midst of those sessions that Peterson wouldn’t be returning, and he eventually signed with New Orleans as a free agent. McKinnon remains with Minnesota, and says he is a contender to take over Peterson’s starting spot even if free-agent signee Latavius Murray or rookie Dalvin Cook are considered more likely to get the nod.
“Don’t count me out,” McKinnon said. “That’s always my goal (to start). I’m competitive. I think it will be a good way to evaluate myself and see where I stack up against them.”
The 5-foot-9 McKinnon is bringing everything he has to this battle. During his work with Peterson, under the direction of trainer James Cooper, McKinnon said he added plenty of muscle while beefing up from 200 to 211 pounds.
“My body feels good,’’ McKinnon said. “I’m just ready to prove myself and show how much better I’ve got in the offseason.’’
McKinnon had an up-and-down first three years with the Vikings, time spent either backing up Peterson or as a part-time starter. Peterson missed 15 games in 2014 because of a child-abuse incident, and 13 games in 2016 because of injuries.
McKinnon led the Vikings last season with 539 yards rushing, but averaged just 3.4 yards per carry after averaging 4.9 in his first two years.
McKinnon, though, said he is faster and has expanded his game. Cooper agrees with McKinnon, nicknamed “Jet.’’
“I think he’s ready to spread his wings,’’ Cooper said. “We added some things to his game. A running back is like a fighter and like a fighter throws a jab, a running back has to learn how to set the jab up.”
So what exactly did Cooper work on with McKinnon?
“I can’t get into specifics, because a fighter can’t tell his game plan for the world to know it or else it wouldn’t be a good game plan,” Cooper said.
Between mandatory mini-camp June 13-15 and the start of training camp in late July, McKinnon is expected to continue working with Peterson and Cooper in Houston. Peterson has been offering pointers since McKinnon entered the NFL as a third-round pick in 2014 out of Georgia Southern.
“That was a guy who was (with Minnesota) for 10 years and is the all-time leading rusher here,’’ McKinnon said. “I watched him growing up and came here and met him and he took me under his wing. You definitely don’t want to see him go, but it’s a business. Things happen, guys leave and guys come in.’’
After Peterson left, the Vikings signed Murray as a free agent and took Cook in the second round of the draft. Murray will miss all of spring drills while recovering from ankle surgery. It was McKinnon, not Cook, getting most of the reps with the first team at an organized team activities practice that was open Wednesday to the media.
“He’s fun to watch when he gets the ball in his hands,’’ wide receiver Adam Thielen said.
With 91 receptions in his first three seasons, McKinnon also has valuable catching the ball out of the backfield. While McKinnon says his goal is to start, if that doesn’t happen there still could be role for him in third-down situations.
