Melvin Gordon has always listed Adrian Peterson as one of his football idols. Since entering the league, Gordon has been able to face Peterson's teams each year whether it be the preseason or regular season.
The 28s are keeping that streak alive as the Los Angeles Chargers are set to face the New Orleans Saints on Sunday.
But on the field on Thursday, it was hard to miss Gordon and Peterson chatting it up post-practice. The pair remain close, working out together in Houston during the past few offseasons.
"It was fun," Peterson said. "Melvin has a great personality and he's a hard worker. But for me, being the older guy, even though I don't look at myself as the older guy, it felt good to have the opportunity to have some young backs in there, show them how I work and push them to their next level. It's all about setting that pace and that standard for those guys."
Entering his 11th season in the league, Peterson has seen his fair share of running backs. But to him, Gordon is special.
"From day one, just watching the quickness of his feet. Obviously, he has nice size and is very explosive, (but) I didn't realize how fast he was. Once we got on the track, I was able to see how fast he was. He has some real good speed."
Peterson said the work the pair has put in has been beyond beneficial for each of their games. While Peterson says results come from "the effort you put in," he feels Gordon has used his offseasons to his advantage to produce results when Week 1 rolls around.
"I feel what it boils down to is being surrounded around the right people (and) having the right trainer who knows how to work the body, which areas to focus on, and make that connect throughout the whole offseason."
Having seen Gordon evolve over the past couple seasons, Peterson is eager to see what 2017 brings for L.A.'s number 28. While Gordon has the physical and mental gifts, and proved he could put the two together to have a successful season in 2016, Peterson said the running back is capable of anything he puts his mind to, as long as he stays healthy.
"The sky's the limit for him. He showed last year how he improved his game. The main thing is just staying healthy. If he has a healthy season, I see him being one of the top backs in the league. He has that type of ability."
