Nick Swardson -- I Love the Vikings ... But Adrian Peterson's Gotta Go!

Nick Swardson is a massive Minnesota Vikings fan ... HUUGE ... but the actor tells TMZ Sports his team needs to drop Adrian Peterson, ASAP ... saying he just can't root for a convicted child abuser.

Swardon's love for the Vikes is well known -- remember, we shot him going berserk in a bar when they passed on Johnny Manziel last year -- so, when we saw him out in NYC today, we had to ask about AP.

"Get rid of him."

You gotta watch the clip, Swardson says that while AP is a beast on the field, he just can't get past the brutal images of Peterson's abused 4-year-old son.

"I'm a diehard Vikings fan but I'm also a fan of children."