With cornerbacks like Richard Sherman providing enough soundbites for journalists to meet their season-long quotas in a mere matter of minutes, oftentimes, stellar players slide under the radar. Simply put—this season, at least—Arizona Cardinals’ cornerback Patrick Peterson is one of those players.
Sure, the Cardinals put up their first loss of the season against the St. Louis Rams last week, but Peterson still managed to perform well, nabbing two solo tackles, one tackle for loss and a defended pass.
Apart from raw talent, what both coaches and fantasy owners alike appreciate more than anything else is Peterson’s durability. Seriously, in Week 4 alone Peterson managed to participate in all 53 snaps.
Though always present, in large part, Peterson’s numbers haven’t reflected the quality of his on-field contributions. For example, through four weeks of play, Peterson’s logged only six solo tackles and one interception.
However, most NFL experts attribute this to the respect that opposing quarterbacks have for his shutdown abilities. Seeing as how his assigned receivers have been held to just 85 total yards through a quarter of the regular season, it’s easy to see why.