I Hate Adrian Peterson.

… And I'll tell you why. He won't be on any of my teams this year. And no, this isn't some lame joke about the dude from Chicago. I'm talking about the Minnesota Adrian Peterson, our ESPN Fantasy Magazine cover boy, the NFL record-holder for single-game rushing, Mr. Seriously Badass. (Side note: If I ever start an '80s cover band, I'm calling it Mr. Seriously Badass). I'll get to performance in a second, but first, look at the headline that I had nothing to do with. "To AP or Not AP?" That is the question? Shouldn't the question actually be "Is it AP or is it AD?" His nickname in college was "All Day." As in, "I sat here all day and I could not come up with an interesting nickname." I've heard him referred to as AP, as AD and as many words I can't reprint after he did absolutely nothing last year against San Francisco. We need a SportsNation vote on this. Once and for all, what's the dude's nickname? For now, I'm staying with AP if only because it saves re-writing the headline and it'll really hack off folks from Oklahoma. I grew up in Texas and I was taught that every time you hack off folks from Oklahoma, an angel gets its wings. Now if you've seen my rankings, you know I have Peterson ranked fourth overall. So how can I declare that I "hate" Adrian Peterson? Is it just a cheap ploy to get you to click on the article? It's a good question because frankly, I'm all about cheap ploys. Somewhere in this piece, there's a naked picture of Jessica Alba! But for once, it's actually relevant. Because saying I hate Peterson is as good an example of the "Love / Hate" and judgment as there is. Look, fantasy sports is as much about value as anything else. I talk about this and pretty much everything else you need to know strategywise in my Draft Day Manifesto, but basically, you win leagues not with your first-round picks, but by grabbing a Brandon Marshall late (as I recommended last June 25, before everyone else was on the bandwagon; look it up, baby!). However, your first pick is still important. It's the face of your team and your statistical bedrock. So I rank them LaDainian Tomlinson, Brian Westbrook, Joseph Addai and Peterson. Which means if I have the first or second pick, I'm not taking Peterson. And if I have the fourth pick, he's not falling to me. Hence, I won't have Peterson on any team. Here's why: Peterson is a bit injury prone. He missed two games last season and time in college. He's also inconsistent. He had single-digit fantasy points in four of his final six games. (Of course, he had more than 20 points in the other two games, hence his high ranking). Adrian Peterson and Chester Taylor Having both Adrian Peterson and Chester Taylor is good for the Vikings, but it's not good for either's fantasy value. The Vikings still don't have a quarterback. Which means teams will put eight and even nine guys in the box to stop him. What the Vikings do have is a healthy Chester Taylor to take some touches away. Meanwhile, Westbrook has averaged more than 2,000 total yards and 11.5 touchdowns the past two years, he's missed only two games in that time (same amount of games Peterson missed last year) and he continues to be the focal point of an offense that is tailor-made for him. Last year's No. 1 fantasy running back (Tomlinson) scored only 24 points more than Westbrook, or less than two points a week. As for Addai, he scored the exact same amount of points last year as Peterson, and he missed basically three games (one for injury and then Weeks 16 and 17, when he was mostly rested). He also hurt you down the stretch some, but I feel he's safer. Peterson has more upside, Addai is safer. And he has done it for one year longer. But obviously, I feel Peterson is going to have a monster year. A much better year than, say, Kenny Watson of the Bengals, who is on my "love" list. So why is Peterson on the "hate" and Watson on the "love?" Because it's about value. And where you draft. And I've already stated I don't like Peterson at No. 2. But in the later rounds, when you're in the "drafting backup running backs and hoping to get lucky" phase of the draft, Kenny Watson's one of the first ones I target. This list is my version of a sleeper and bust list. Players I like a lot more or a lot less than where the general ESPN Rankings currently have them. That simple. So let's get to it.