Is Patrick Peterson too big to succeed?
Jun 2, 2011, 12:15 AM | Updated: 1:18 am
The phrase “too big to fail” has been thrown around in business, but in the NFL the opposite may hold true.
At six-foot-one and 219 pounds, Cardianls first rounder Patrick Peterson is a little on the big side for a corner back.
On ESPN’s NFL Live Wednesday analyst Mark Schlereth, while talking about the rookie, said there is some concern over whether he will successfully play corner in the pros due to his larger-than-average build.
“I’ve talked to a lot of NFL coaches, I’ve talked to some personnel people, and every one of them to a man said said from an athletic standpoint, unbelievable,” Schelerth said. “Best athlete, ball skills, maybe the best player in this draft. But many of them are concerned…they were afraid he was going to grow out of the position.”
The Cardinals, though, drafted Peterson to play corner, and are banking on his ability to shutdown opposing receivers. He can’t really do that as a safety, meaning he’s going to have to stay a corner for the team to get the value they were looking for.
In response to the take on ESPN, Peterson said the Cardinals have nothing to worry about.
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Well, glad that’s settled.
In reality nobody really knows what Peterson’s career will be like. Is he the next Champ Bailey or will he follow in the footsteps of another Cardinals first rounder, Antrel Rolle? Time will tell, but at this point nobody, including Schlereth, is saying the Cardinals made the wrong choice.
“I will tell you this,” he said. “Every one of the people I talked to that had those concerns, that maybe he’s going to grow out of this and be too big, every one of them said ‘but if he was there when we draft, we’d take him — he’s the guy.'”
The only question left is whether or not he’ll be “The Man” for the Cardinals.
