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Adrian Peterson elaborates on his belief that the Vikings can win it all

Wild Card Round - Seattle Seahawks v Minnesota Vikings

MINNEAPOLIS, MN - JANUARY 10: Richard Sherman #25 of the Seattle Seahawks and Michael Bennett #72 attempt to tackle Adrian Peterson #28 of the Minnesota Vikings in the first quarter during the NFC Wild Card Playoff game at TCFBank Stadium on January 10, 2016 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

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Vikings running back Adrian Peterson recently told Peter King of TheMMQB.com that Peterson thinks his team can win it all this year. Appearing on Friday’s PFT Live on NBC Sports Radio, Peterson elaborated on the basis for his belief.

“First, it starts up top in the organization and some moving pieces that have taken place the past couple of years,” Peterson said. "[General Manager] Rick Spielman is doing a great job when it comes to bringing quality guys that fit our system. Along with coach [Mike] Zimmer and his great staff I feel like we have that core system and guys in the right place to be able to accomplish great things.

“As far as players, I feel like we have a young group with some veteran guys mixed in and some young guys that really can play some good ball. What really excites me the most is our defense. Our defense jumped up the charts from the previous year to this past year and what those guys have accomplished just as a unit.

“Offensively just going off of what we were able to accomplish this year and we really weren’t the type of offense that we wanted to be. But you look at that and we were right there in the mix of really going on to play Arizona and end up in the NFC Championship game with what we had offensively. So with the moves we’ve made this offseason with [Alex] Boone and [Andre] Smith and then some of these young guys that really have a lot to prove, that we drafted. Then the veteran guys we have on the offensive side for us, receivers and things like that I feel like the sky is the limit for us. That’s why it’s going to be important when training camp do come around, even though I don’t like [training camp], to see how the chemistry and guys mesh together. So I’m pretty excited about it.”

One of the young players with something to prove on offense is first-round receiver Laquon Treadwell. Peterson seems to be excited by what the rookie will be able to do for the team.

“I watched some film on him and he’s a big body receiver,” Peterson said. “He does a great job at positioning himself and snatching the ball at it’s highest point. He does a great job when it comes to run blocking, too, and the kid’s from Chicago so he has that dog mentality in him and you really don’t find that with too many guys at receiver. But just watching him during the draft process I know he was disappointed that he didn’t go lower. Of course, I was happy that he ended up right there at 23 for us. So just kind of looking in his face and looking in his eyes I could tell that he was upset and that he has something to prove. There’s nothing better than that, having a young guy who for the past two years was the best receiver that they had on the charts. Then . . . you run a slow 40 time and you have a couple guys jump past you. I’m glad it happened selfishly because we have a tremendous athlete and a player, but just looking in his eyes I really felt like he has something to prove to the world.”

Peterson has something to prove to the world, from a team and individual perspective.

“I’m the type of person I like defeating the odds,” he said. “I’m sure there’s gonna be a naysayer this year, ‘Oh, he’s 31 what is he gonna do?’ and in my mind I’ll go ahead and prove them wrong again.”

If the Vikings accomplish what Peterson thinks he can, they’ll be proving a lot of people wrong.