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Adrian Peterson's Surprising Admission About 2007 Draft, Playing for Texans

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By A. Kazmierczak | Last updated May 27, 2025 12:58 PM ET

Despite the unsuccessful careers of quarterbacks JaMarcus Russell and Brady Quinn, the 2007 NFL Draft class is widely considered one of the best this Century.

First round selections Calvin Johnson (No. 2 overall, Detroit Lions), Joe Thomas (No. 3, Cleveland Browns), Patrick Willis (No. 11, San Francisco 49ers), and Darrelle Revis (No. 14, New York Jets) have all been inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

And another is expected to join them in Canton in the near future.

Adrian Peterson was the seventh overall pick by the Minnesota Vikings in 2007, but recently reveled he was hoping to be selected three picks later.

"Arizona could be a spot, Detroit could be a spot, Cleveland could be a spot, Minnesota and then Houston." Peterson said on an episode of the Stories Untold podcast, as he reflected back on his 2007 draft experience.

"When Minnesota came up, I was like 'Ok, I think Minnesota is going to end up picking me.' I honestly wanted to, during that time, I wanted to slip to number ten cause I would've been able to go back home and play in Texas."

Before starring at the University of Oklahoma from 2004-'06, Peterson played his high school ball at Palestine High School (Palestine, Texas), located about 150 north of Houston.

"I was gonna say, Houston would've been pretty cool," podcast host Natalie Bode suggested.

To which Peterson replied, "Yeah, that would've been dope...I'm sure if I was still on the board they probably would've got me."

Oh, what could have been.

Instead, Peterson went to the Vikings at No. 7 and the Texans selected defensive tackle Amobi Okoye out of Louisville, making him the youngest player (19 years, 10 months) to be drafted in the first round in NFL history.

Okoye played six years in the NFL with the Texans (four) and Chicago Bears (two), recording 177 tackles and 16 sacks in 87 games. Peterson, who played for seven different teams throughout his 15-year career, accumulated 14,918 rushing yards and 126 touchdowns.

Peterson will be eligible for the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2027.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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