At one point, it appeared as though veteran cornerback Patrick Peterson’s career was closer to the end than any sort of potential revival or resurgence.
Then, the 2022 season happened for Peterson and the Minnesota Vikings.
Peterson turned in the best season of his career since 2018, when he was with the Arizona Cardinals, and parlayed that resurgent season into a two-year, $14 million deal in free agency with the Pittsburgh Steelers this offseason.
That strong season also pushed Peterson back inside Pro Football Focus’ top 32 cornerback rankings, which were released Wednesday.
Peterson, who will play the 2023 season at 33 years old, landed at No. 31 overall in the rankings, just ahead of New England’s Jonathan Jones.
“Peterson had a huge bounce-back season in 2022 for the Vikings. He finished with a 77.8 PFF overall grade and five interceptions, the most he has recorded in a single season since 2012,” PFF’s Sam Monson writes regarding Peterson’s ranking at the position. “At this point in his career, he is better in zone coverage than he is playing man to man, but he showed that he is still capable of very high-level play if he can be protected a little within the scheme.”
After losing Cameron Sutton in free agency to the Detroit Lions, it was rather surprising to see the Steelers pivot and bring in a guy like Peterson, who is obviously on the wrong side of 30 years old and plays a position at which guys tend to really hit a wall at as they age.
Historically, the Steelers don’t make moves like that. It’s a new era with Omar Khan in charge though.
Peterson did have a strong season in 2022 and seems to still be able to get by at the position with his football IQ and overall awareness, rather than his physical traits like he was able to earlier in his career. Going from a poor Vikings defense to a Pittsburgh one stacked with talent in front of and behind him could be the welcome boost that Peterson needs late in his career when he is experiencing a bit of a renaissance.
In Pittsburgh, Peterson won’t be asked to be the true, lockdown No. 1 corner anymore. Instead, he’ll be asked to be more of a mentor for the young cornerbacks like second-round pick Joey Porter Jr. and seventh-round pick Cory Trice Jr., not to mention younger veterans like Levi Wallace and James Pierre.
That might seem like a bit of a slap in the face to a player like Peterson, coming off the season he just put together, but the veteran is embracing it and knows where he is in his career. That’s not to say he doesn’t think he can play at a high level anymore — that’s not the case — but he knows he has to continue to adjust his game to the NFL today.
Elsewhere in the top 32 rankings, New York Jets cornerback Sauce Gardner was named the top cornerback in the NFL, beating out new Miami Dolphins cornerback Jalen Ramsey.
Shockingly, Sutton — who last season was the No. 25 cornerback in the NFL in the same rankings and was the No. 3 free agent cornerback available this offseason — was not in the top 32. Even though he’s now with the Lions, it’s a bit absurd to think Sutton isn’t one of the 32 best corners in football.
In the AFC North, Cleveland’s Denzel Ward is ranked as the best corner in the division, coming in at No. 14. Cincinnati’s Chide Awuzie landed at No. 18 and Baltimore’s Marlon Humphrey cracked the list at No. 20 overall.
Cincinnati’s Mike Hilton came in at No. 22 overall, while Cleveland’s Greg Newsome II landed at No. 27, rounding out corners in the AFC North.
