One of the biggest concerns among analysts after the Pittsburgh Steelers signed former Minnesota Vikings corner Patrick Peterson was his transition from going to a man coverage scheme in Pittsburgh after predominantly playing zone in Minnesota. Add film guru Greg Cosell among those with some doubts, as Cosell said on The Ross Tucker Football podcast that he doesn’t know if Peterson can hold up in man.
“I’m very curious to see on defense what their mix of man and zone is. I don’t know if Patrick Peterson at this point in his career can line up and play heavy man coverage,” Cosell said. “So I’m very curious to see how they choose to play on the back end in those critical situations.”
Peterson is entering his age-33 season, so he’s definitely a bit older than most corners in the league. With age comes reduced athleticism and quickness, and so there are understandably doubts about whether or not Peterson will be able to shut down his assignment in man coverage. By all indications though, the team isn’t planning on making significant scheme changes, so the Steelers will likely be a team that mostly runs man in 2023.
We won’t really know if Peterson is able to hold up until we see him on the field. As of now, there’s still a little bit of unknown about his role, too. While he’s expected to start on the outside alongside Levi Wallace in Pittsburgh’s base defense, he’s gotten some work inside as well, which he said allows him to “play even slower.” With a little bit of a hole at slot corner coupled with depth on the outside, it could make sense to have Peterson play a decent bit of slot snaps.
Right now, Chandon Sullivan is expected to start in the slot, making the position Pittsburgh’s biggest weakness. Shifting Peterson inside and allowing Joey Porter Jr. to start and still having solid depth with Cory Trice Jr. and James Pierre outside is definitely something Pittsburgh should be and likely is considering.
With mandatory minicamp and training camp fast approaching, we’ll likely get more answers on what the Steelers’ plans are at cornerback. Peterson is a quality addition, and the fact he can be versatile and play inside or outside is certainly a bonus.
He showed off his ball skills with five interceptions last season, and I think he’ll wind up being fine wherever he plays. While he is older and probably a bit slower from when he came into the league, he’s one of the smartest players in the league and those guys usually end up being contributors even if their athleticism isn’t what it once was. I’m definitely excited to see him don the black and gold this season.
