NFL.com ranks Patrick Peterson as best cornerback in NFL

A six-game suspension for Cardinals cornerback Patrick Peterson hasn’t tarnished his reputation as one of the NFL’s best cornerbacks.

And according to longtime Washington Redskins defensive back DeAngelo Hall, he’s still the league’s best.

The former cornerback ranked him No. 1 on his list of the NFL’s top cornerbacks.

The Jaguars’ Jalen Ramsey and the Patriots’ Stephon Gilmore were ranked behind Peterson at No. 2 and No. 3, respectively.

From Hall:

He sits at the top of my list for all the same reasons he’s been voted to eight consecutive Pro Bowls. Peterson, who is dominating much in the same way Darrelle Revis did before him, excels in man coverage and is also great in zone defense. Over the past few seasons, there hasn’t been much that offenses (or receivers, for that matter) could do to get the CB1 off his game. And as with all great cornerbacks, he’s seeing fewer targets thrown to his side of the field — but he often makes opponents regret it when they do test him.

Peterson has 387 tackles, with 351 of those being solo, and 23 interceptions in his career. After a stellar 2012 season which saw Peterson snag seven picks, he’s never had more than three in a season since and has just three combined over the course of the last two.

His suspension, which Hall notes below, will also cause him to miss his first game ever.

However, I can’t put Peterson in this spot without addressing the six-game suspension he’ll serve for violating the NFL’s performance-enhancing drug policy, which will make him ineligible for this season’s Pro Bowl and snap his streak of consecutive selections to the game at eight. (Side note: The only other player to be selected to each of the last eight Pro Bowls is Tom Brady.) Some may think Peterson should be lower on this list because he’s missing six games, but his superb production and incomparable impact keep him at the top.

Peterson will enter his ninth season with the Cardinals when the season begins in September.