USA Today: Patrick Peterson is NFL’s top corner

The Arizona Cardinals defense has many notable players including safety Tyrann Mathieu, linebacker Chandler Jones and defensive lineman Calais Campbell.

While these three players are terrific at their craft, only one Cardinals player may be considered the best at their position, and that is cornerback Patrick Peterson.

Following a stellar 2015 campaign, Peterson rose from being among the top cornerbacks in the league to arguably the NFL’s top cornerback.

In fact, Steven Ruiz of USA Today gave Peterson the nod for the No. 1 spot as he broke down the top-10 cornerbacks in the NFL.

Peterson is the closest thing you’ll find to a shutdown corner in today’s NFL. After a disappointing 2014, a slimmed-down Peterson bounced back and produced a career season. He did not follow around No. 1 receivers for full 60-minute games; instead, he typically played his normal role in the first half and then started shadowing the top receiver in the second half. Arizona put too much on Peterson’s plate in prior seasons. He was often left on an island thanks to an aggressive, blitz-heavy scheme. The Cardinals are still blitzing, but not having to track superstar receivers for entire games has allowed the 25-year-old to conserve energy throughout games.

Peterson is the most athletically-gifted corner in the league. Last year, his technique finally caught up. Peterson’s footwork has been refined, which allows him to stick with receivers with elite change of direction ability.

According to Pro Football Focus, Peterson played extremely well against Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown in week six, as Brown was held to just two catches for 26 yards on six targets with Peterson guarding him.

Five weeks later, Peterson continued to show his tremendous man-to-man defense when he locked up Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver A.J. Green for just two catches and 24 yards on six targets as the main defender.

Peterson finished with two interceptions, while also forcing four fumbles in the 2015 regular season and added an additional interception against Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton in the NFC Championship Game.

The three-time First-Team All-Pro and five-time Pro-Bowl corner has yet to miss a game since joining the Cardinals in 2011, as he has started all 80 possible games.

Peterson has accounted for 232 tackles, 58 pass deflections, 18 interceptions, 19 fumbles forced and four punt-return touchdowns in his five-year career (playoffs included).

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