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Every year, in conjunction with the release of the #NFLRank rollout on ESPN.com, Football Outsiders has provided an audit of the list. Once again this year, we're pointing out players in the top 100 we feel were particularly overrated or underrated by the ESPN voters. Remember, of course, that "overrated" does not mean "bad." A player might be overrated because he's one of the 40 or 50 best players in the NFL, but not one of the top dozen. For example ... Overrated Minnesota Vikings RB Adrian Peterson (No. 12) When we did this last year, Peterson ranked No. 11, and we listed him as overrated. Here we are again one year later. We're sorry to keep hammering it home, but understanding why Adrian Peterson is not one of the 12 best players in the NFL is important for understanding the modern NFL game. Passing is more important than rushing, and efficiency is more important than raw totals. Peterson led the NFL in rushing yards and touchdowns last season. He's a really good player. But he led the league in those stats because he led the league with 327 carries. No other running back had more than 290 carries. That's an entire extra game of carries Peterson had compared with every other running back in the league.
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