5 NFL Red Zone Trends to Monitor for Week 2

Ride Adrian Peterson While He's Healthy

Adrian Peterson isn't likely to see a ton of 25-carry games, as Washington isn't always going to be playing with big leads early like they did against Arizona. This expected drop in volume will certainly hurt his floor, but his Week 1 usage showed that his weekly upside is very interesting.

Washington called seven rush and five pass plays in the red zone last week, and Peterson handled all seven of those carries. The only other back to see a red zone opportunity was Chris Thompson, who notched two targets out of the backfield.

It's also worth noting that neither of Thompson's looks came once Washington got inside the 10 yard line, and three of Peterson's seven red zone carries came inside the five yard line, where the league-average for rushing touchdown rate sat at 39% in 2017.

Peterson is obviously an outlier in almost every area, but as a 33-year-old back that just handled his 2,600th carry of his career, there's reason to be concerned about how long he can take a workload like this and remain effective. If he keeps getting these goal line looks, though, he could put up a solid touchdown total, which would go a long way to make up for those concerns in fantasy football.