The NFL's best outside cornerbacks, No. 10: Marcus Peters, Chiefs

The Defensive Rookie of the Year is only on the upswing.

Peters’s early-season humbling might have been the best thing for his Defensive Rookie of the Year campaign. Emboldened by the big plays he yielded in the opening weeks, quarterbacks kept throwing his way even after he settled in to the speed of the NFL. By the end of the year he had a league-high eight interceptions and 26 passes defended to show for his efforts. Peters has the swagger to keep up with those numbers, and he showed flashes of being able to hold down Kansas City’s toughest defensive assignments during the three-game suspension served by Sean Smith, who is now in Oakland.