Way-too-early fantasy football Mock Draft: Peterson No. 1

Coming off an ACL tear, Adrian Peterson rushed for 2,097 yards during an MVP-caliber season.

Carlos Gonzalez/Landov

Adrian Peterson might have finished just nine yards shy of Eric Dickerson's single-season rushing record, but he earned another significant honor this season ... and it has nothing to do with the NFL playoffs.

Peterson is going to be the No. 1 pick in fantasy football in 2013, assuming (knock on wood), he doesn't get injured next week in the postseason.

Heck, scratch that. Peterson could blow out his knee again and still be the top pick next year. After all, he's already proven capable of overcoming a major knee reconstruction to rush for a near-record 2,097 in a calendar year.

There is no way to make the case for anyone else as the top pick. Peterson reminded everyone this season that in fantasy circles, he is the man.

For the final Fantasy Football Fast Forward of 2012, we're mapping out what the first seven rounds of next season's draft would look like if the draft were held today. Free agency, trades, postseason hype, coaching changes, injuries and the draft will all impact eventual pre-draft rankings, but this is where things stand as the regular season concludes. But by all means, debate away. There's nothing better to do for the next eight-plus months anyway.

2013 Mock Draft

Round 1
Pick	Player	Team	Position	Position rank
1	Adrian Peterson	MIN	RB	1
2	Arian Foster	HOU	RB	2
3	Doug Martin	TB	RB	3
4	Marshawn Lynch	SEA	RB	4
5	Ray Rice	BAL	RB	5
6	Aaron Rodgers	GB	QB	1
7	Calvin Johnson	DET	WR	1
8	Drew Brees	NO	QB	2
9	Tom Brady	NE	QB	3
10	C.J. Spiller	BUF	RB	6
11	LeSean McCoy	PHI	RB	7
12	Alfred Morris	WAS	RB	8
Round 2
13	Jamaal Charles	KC	RB	9
14	Stevan Ridley	NE	RB	10
15	Cam Newton	CAR	QB	4
16	Peyton Manning	DEN	QB	5
17	A.J. Green	CIN	WR	2
18	Robert Griffin III	WAS	QB	6
19	Chris Johnson	TEN	RB	11
20	Trent Richardson	CLE	RB	12
21	DeMarco Murray	DAL	RB	13
22	Brandon Marshall	CHI	WR	3
23	Julio Jones	ATL	WR	4
24	Rob Gronkowski	NE	TE	1
Round 3
25	Dez Bryant	DAL	WR	5
26	Matt Ryan	ATL	QB	7
27	Demaryius Thomas	DEN	WR	6
28	Maurice Jones-Drew	JAC	RB	14
29	Jimmy Graham	NO	TE	2
30	Roddy White	ATL	WR	7
31	Victor Cruz	NYG	WR	8
32	Matt Forte	CHI	RB	15
33	Darren McFadden	OAK	RB	16
34	Larry Fitzgerald	ARI	WR	9
35	Eric Decker	DEN	WR	10
36	Wes Welker	NE	WR	11
Round 4
37	Vincent Jackson	TB	WR	12
38	Reggie Wayne	IND	WR	13
39	Percy Harvin	MIN	WR	14
40	Andre Johnson	HOU	WR	15
41	Marques Colston	NO	WR	16
42	Frank Gore	SF	RB	17
43	Matthew Stafford	DET	QB	8
44	Jordy Nelson	GB	WR	17
45	Randall Cobb	GB	WR	18
46	Tony Romo	DAL	QB	9
47	Reggie Bush	MIA	RB	18
48	Jason Witten	DAL	TE	3
Round 5
49	Greg Jennings	GB	WR	19
50	Aaron Hernandez	NE	TE	4
51	Ahmad Bradshaw	NYG	RB	19
52	BenJarvus Green-Ellis	CIN	RB	20
53	Andrew Luck	IND	QB	10
54	Hakeem Nicks	NYG	WR	20
55	Michael Crabtree	SF	WR	21
56	Mike Wallace	PIT	WR	22
57	Miles Austin	DAL	WR	23
58	Shonn Greene	NYJ	RB	21
59	Stevie Johnson	BUF	WR	24
60	Steve Smith	CAR	WR	25
Round 6
61	Steven Jackson	STL	RB	22
62	Darren Sproles	NO	RB	23
63	Ryan Mathews	SD	RB	24
64	Knowshon Moreno	DEN	RB	25
65	Mike Williams	TB	WR	26
66	Cecil Shorts	JAC	WR	27
67	James Jones	GB	WR	28
68	Ben Roethlisberger	PIT	QB	11
69	Jonathan Stewart	CAR	RB	26
70	Torrey Smith	BAL	WR	29
71	Sidney Rice	SEA	WR	30
72	Eli Manning	NYG	QB	12
Round 7
73	Russell Wilson	SEA	QB	13
74	D. Williams	CAR	RB	27
75	Mikel LeShoure	DET	RB	28
76	Andy Dalton	CIN	QB	14
77	Colin Kaepernick	SF	QB	15
78	Jeremy Maclin	PHI	WR	31
79	Michael Turner	ATL	RB	29
80	Vick Ballard	IND	RB	30
81	Mark Ingram	NO	RB	31
82	DeSean Jackson	PHI	WR	32
83	Dwayne Bowe	KC	WR	33
84	Fred Jackson	BUF	RB	32

We'll leave it at that and guarantee this won't actually be how things shake out. It was an interesting exercise, though, and it can help fantasy players determine any early keeper decisions they might be forced to make.

And on that note, enjoy the long, cold winter. Fantasy baseball just doesn't capture our imaginations the same way football can.

Eric Mack writes fantasy for SI.com. Track his weekly starts and sits every Thursday, his last-minute Cheat Sheet on Sunday mornings and his Fantasy Fast Forward on Sunday nights. You find also him on Twitter, where you can mock him, rip him and (doubtful) praise him before asking him for fantasy advice or challenging him to a head-to-head fantasy game @EricMackFantasy. He reads all the messages there (guaranteed) and takes them very, very personally (not really).

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