Former Vikings CB Patrick Peterson Sneaks into Top Cornerback Rankings for 2023
Josh Frey
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The NFL offseason is a time for lists and rankings, and this week, Sam Monson of Pro Football Focus put together a list of the top-32 cornerbacks in the league heading into the 2023 season.
Unfortunately, but also unsurprisingly, the young Vikings didn’t make the cut this year considering we are yet to see what many of them can do at the NFL level. That being said, former Vikings CB Patrick Peterson was able to just barely sneak onto the list ahead of his age-33 season and 13th year in the NFL, being named the 31st-best cornerback in the league. Here is what Monson had to say of the CB:
Peterson had a huge bounce-back season in 2022 for the Vikings. He finished with a 77.8 PFF overall grade and five interceptions, the most he has recorded in a single season since 2012. At this point in his career, he is better in zone coverage than he is playing man to man, but he showed that he is still capable of very high-level play if he can be protected a little within the scheme.
Peterson signed with the Vikings back in 2021, but that season didn’t quite go as well as hoped, missing four games due to injury and having to wait until Week 18 to record his first interception, narrowly keeping his streak alive of intercepting a pass in every year of his career.
2022 proved to be a great bounce-back year for the CB, though. This time around, it took him just six weeks to intercept his first pass of the season, and he came through in a number of clutch moments throughout the year, including a game-winning interception in overtime against the Buffalo Bills.
In all, Peterson put together a truly incredible statistical season last year. As Monson mentioned, his five interceptions were more than any season of his career since 2012. His nine pass break-ups during the year were also a career-high.
As a result, Peterson left the Vikings this spring, joining the Pittsburgh Steelers as they try to rebuild their defense around T.J. Watt. Funny enough, this was also the landing spot for Chandon Sullivan after spending 2022 with the Vikings as the starting slot cornerback.
Peterson will undoubtedly get a chance to start in Mike Tomlin’s defense, and the competition at CB is as follows:
- Luq Barco
- Duke Dawson
- Madre Harper
- Tre Norwood
- James Pierre
- Joey Porter Jr.
- Chandon Sullivan
- Cory Trice Jr.
- Levi Wallace
- Chris Wilcox
Peterson’s departure from Minnesota only emphasizes how badly they need one of the young players in that cornerback room to step up this season. Despite turning 33 in July, he is absolutely one of the most talented players in the NFL, and he leaves behind massive shoes to fill.
Josh Frey is a Class of 2020 graduate of The College of Idaho and managing editor of PurplePTSD.com. When he’s not writing about the NFL, Josh enjoys running, gaming, or rooting for the Milwaukee Brewers and Bucks. Check out his Twitter account: @Freyed_Chicken.