It’s the offseason, and Pro Football Focus loves to fill the column inches with some All-Teams of different categories. Last week, it was an All-Undrafted Team that featured a couple of current Vikings. This week, it is an All-PFF team that contains a couple of Vikings legends.

Peterson and Smith Give Minnesota Two Easy PFF Calls

The premise is simple: as part of their 20th anniversary, the folks at PFF have compiled an All-PFF first and second team using data collected since they started in 2006, selecting each player’s best five seasons. Justin Jefferson was name-dropped as being close to a spot at WR despite only playing in a total of five seasons. 

Adrian Peterson
2nd Team Running Back

PFF called the top running back spot a three-man race between Derrick Henry, Adrian Peterson, and Christian McCaffrey. The Vikings man got the nod for the second team, while McCaffrey fell out of the top three, and Henry got the first team honors.

Here is PFF’s analysis of how they got to their decision.

Henry and Peterson both had more good seasons to pick from. If this team had a specific third-down or receiving back, McCaffrey would have been the clear choice.

In the battle between Henry and Peterson, Peterson received more help from his offensive line at 1.6 yards before contact per carry. Notably, Henry had more yards after contact per carry at 3.6 to 3.0, a higher avoided tackle rate, a higher first down rate, and much fewer fumbles.

The debate over who was better, Peterson or Henry, is interesting. Peterson’s peak, particularly his 2000+ rushing-yard MVP season, is unmatched, but Henry is showing greater longevity and remains strong as he heads into the 2026 season with the Baltimore Ravens.

Harrison Smith
1st Team Safety

It’s Harrison Smith who gets the first-team nod, and I personally think this is great. The Hitman is a legend in Minnesota but is often overlooked from the outside, despite his numbers telling a clear story. With stats and grades being the driving force behind this team, the Vikings’ safety gets in ahead of the likes of Troy Polamalu and Ed Reed. Here is what PFF said about Smith’s inclusion.

Eric Weddle, Harrison Smith, and Devin McCourty are three of the five safeties with over 12,000 snaps during the PFF era and three of the five with grades above 90.0. All three own grades above 92.0 in both run defense and coverage. Pass-rushing helped differentiate the three, as Weddle and Smith blitzed much more than McCourty and were more successful on a per-play basis.

Smith, who has yet to retire officially, is fully deserving of this accolade, and we are yet to learn whether he will have the chance to add to his resume, which this writer firmly believes is a Hall of Fame career.