A wonderful day to be a Cardinals fan
Apr 29, 2011, 1:09 AM | Updated: 2:11 am
This was a great pick by the Arizona Cardinals. Patrick Peterson, CB out of LSU, was the surest thing in this draft. He was rated the number player overall on many draft boards. Picking him at number 5 gives the Cardinals instant value in the first-round.
Peterson will do four primary things for Big Red:
Peterson will be a shutdown corner. He has rare athletic skills. He is big and fast, strong in press coverage, a good tackler with excellent ball skills. He makes the Cardinals better now, an impact player from day one.
Peterson will motivate Dominique Rodgers-Crommartie. DRC has always been the freak; this is no longer the case. Peterson is bigger, stronger and faster than DRC. If Dominique has a competitive bone in his body he will rise up to the challenge of Peterson’s presence and remind people whom the shut down corner is on this team!
Peterson will fill a need. You can never have enough corners in the NFL and because DRC and Peterson will start, Greg Toler moves into the nickel corner position. This is a formidable group with a motivated, challenged DRC. The Cardinals gave up a ton of big plays last year. They led the league in giving up plays of 20-yards or more. The Cardinals believe this will not be the case this year.
Peterson will relieve Steve Breaston and become the punt-returner/kick-returner for this team. Breaston, should he remain with the Cards this year, needs to forget about any return duties and focus all his attention (and health) on playing receiver. The Cards have been loathe to put Breaston back on returns and now they don’t have to even consider it.
This was a no-brainer for the Cards, a great pick. It is a wonderful day to be a Cardinals fan!