For a veteran and future Hall of Famer like Patrick Peterson to offer big praise to rookie CB Joey Porter Jr. is no small thing. Word got back to Porter about what Peterson said, telling reporters yesterday that Porter has the intangibles to be a better player than Peterson.
Reacting to those comments after Thursday’s practice, Porter said it was special to hear.
“It means a lot,” he said as tweeted by the Tribune-Democrat‘s Amanda Godsey. “At the end of the day, that’s Patrick Peterson. I’ve been watching his highlights since I was a little kid. To be in the room with him and learn from him, that means a lot to me. Not even just me and even Cory, learning the game, soaking it up from him.”
If you missed it, here’s what Peterson had to say about Porter making a quick impression even after just three weeks of practice.
“I just want to continue helping him in [as] many ways that I can,” he said, “because he has all the intangibles to be better than me.”
Those comments would be notable enough if they came from an NFL veteran. But they come from Peterson, who we forget is likely to be a Hall of Famer and inducted sooner than later. An eight-time Pro Bowler and three-time All-Pro, Peterson has 34 career interceptions, two of them returned for touchdowns, across 184 starts.
According to Pro Football Reference’s Hall of Fame Monitor which quantifies a player’s Canton credentials, Peterson has a HOF score of 84.8. That’s better than inducted players like Aeneas Williams, Ronde Barber, and Ty Law, all recently enshrined players. Peterson’s career isn’t over either and if he can crack a score of 90, he’ll become a near-lock to make the Hall. Every single DB in history with a Hall of Fame score of 85+ culminated their career with a gold jacket.
As released on the team website, Porter expanded on the advice Peterson has offered.
“He’s giving me tips on how to watch film, how to take care of my body before and after practice. What I’m looking for, what I should look for in my read steps with my press coverage, my off coverage, just little details about the game. What I see with route recognitions and stuff like that.”
For Porter, he’s just trying to make his first NFL play. Based on all the early-year reporting, Porter has held his own in OTAs, looking the part with his size, length, and physicality. He should have a role in nickel and sub-packages, potentially bumping Peterson inside to the slot. Porter will get his first NFL test in regular-season action on September 10th when the San Francisco 49ers come to town. That day, Porter won’t just be watching highlights of Peterson. He’ll be playing alongside him.
