Looking Back at the Marcus Peters Trade Two Years Later
On March 14, 2018, the Chiefs made a stunning move, trading then-two-time All-Pro cornerback Marcus Peters and a sixth-round pick to the Los Angeles Rams for a second-round pick (which became safety Juan Thornhill) and a fourth-round pick (which became safety Armani Watts). So, looking back on the trade and what the Chiefs lost and got in return, was it ultimately the right move for Kansas City?
Before the move, rumors swirled around the Chiefs and Peters, frequently touching on his relationship with Chiefs leadership. Many blew off the rumblings as pure speculation, especially with some conflicting reports. Once the trade was reported, I was crushed. I loved Peters and still do. He stands among the best cornerbacks in Chiefs history when evaluating peak performance. Unfortunately, buzzwords and labels have dominated the Peters conversation in KC.
Peters is among the most unfairly treated players in the league. If you look at any social media discussions involving the league's best corners, Peters is either not included in the conversation or he is ridiculed when someone brings him up. It is not fair to him, as many have judged him based solely on his rookie year and a couple of his worst games since then.
If one were to give Peters the title "shutdown corner," which may be correct depending on how we define it, they would be laughed off the platform and shown a video of Michael Thomas beating him a couple times. However, Peters is right there with some of the most-touted shutdown corners in football when it comes to his yards allowed.
In 2017, Jalen Ramsey was the football world's favorite cornerback. Ramsey was in his second season in the league with the Jacksonville Jaguars and the season he had was magical. He finished as the top cornerback in Pro Football Focus' (PFF) grading system including the postseason, he was voted a first-team All-Pro and was a part of the most-feared cornerback duo in the NFL, alongside second-team All-Pro A.J. Bouye. Ramsey got plenty of praise and he deserved every bit of it. Peters, however, didn't get the praise he deserved.
While Ramsey had a better season than Peters, Peters beat Ramsey out in some of the metrics that many would have expected to go Ramsey's way. Sure, Peters beat Ramsey in interceptions (six to five in favor of Peters), but Peters also beat Ramsey in passer rating (60.9 to 66.4), yards allowed per coverage snap (0.86 to 1.04) and yards allowed per target (6.28 to 7.12). Interestingly enough, Peters did not get an All-Pro honor, despite 2017 being his best season to that point and the fact that he was an All-Pro in 2015 (second-team) and 2016 (first-team).
In 2019, the flavors of the month at cornerback became a pair of AFC East representatives, Stephon Gilmore of the New England Patriots and Tre'Davious White, the only saving grace for Buffalo Bills' fans from the Patrick Mahomes trade. Gilmore and White were outstanding, both finishing in the top four for passer rating and as the only two cornerbacks with six or more interceptions. Both finished the 2019 season as first-team All-Pros along with Peters.
In 2019, Peters had a memorable season to make up for a lackluster 2018, the career low-point of Peters' career. For the Rams, Peters put on a show with 0.69 yards per coverage snap and two interceptions in just 16 targets. However, the Rams were eying the previously-mentioned Ramsey and they decided to trade Peters to get him. Peters was traded to the Baltimore Ravens for an embarrassingly low price, backup linebacker Kenny Young and a fifth-round pick.
In Baltimore, Peters cemented his season as an elite cornerback. From Week 7 to Week 16, Peters had three interceptions, seven pass breakups and a passer rating of 69.5. He finished the season with the second-highest PFF grade at cornerback, only trailing Richard Sherman, and with fewer yards allowed than both Gilmore and White, despite playing nearly the same number of coverage snaps (all between 640 and 648). In the red zone, he remained one of the best cornerbacks in the NFL, finishing with an 87.5 PFF grade in the red zone, tied for the second.
Many will argue that there is more context that needs to be looked at and that is completely true. However, no matter how much context you add, the perception about Peters is just dead wrong. When we discuss the best cornerbacks in the NFL, there is no reason to not have Peters as one of the first ones mentioned. His pace is Canton-bound, even if it's just from the fact that he is in position to break the all-time interceptions record with 27 over just five seasons (just eight behind Aqib Talib and Sherman for the most among active players), and unless he has more seasons like 2018, that will not be changing any time soon.
That being said, this isn't just about Peters. We need to look at what the Chiefs brought back in return for Peters and what they saved financially. The Chiefs got two draft picks in return for Peters, both of which they used on safeties, and Peters received a three-year, $42 million contract extension from the Ravens last December. That $14 million per year number is worth it for a player of Peters' ability, but the Chiefs are in a unique position coming soon. They have to worry about the Mahomes deal, which could go anywhere from $40 million to $50 million per season, and potentially a deal with Chris Jones, who wants $21 million per year. All of this is happening while the Chiefs currently have the fifth-lowest amount of cap space according to Over The Cap.
Then, in regards to the players the Chiefs drafted with the picks, Armani Watts has been a quiet part of the Chiefs defense since he has been here, but you should know how I feel about Juan Thornhill. I see Thornhill as a future star of the league, one of the NFL's premier young safeties. He put on a strong rookie campaign and he won't cost the Chiefs more than $1.5 million until 2023. If there is a legitimate reason to justify the Peters trade, it would be the addition and emergence of Thornhill.
So was the trade the correct decision from the Chiefs? I still find it tough to determine that myself. Thornhill is an exciting young talent, and without the Peters trade, they likely wouldn't have either Thornhill or wide receiver Mecole Hardman, another bright young player who the Chiefs took seven picks prior to Thornhill. However, this team is still uncertain in regards to the cornerback spot and someone like Peters on this defense would be a boost to how often the defense would get the ball back to Mahomes. I suppose it depends on what you value more: an elite corner with historically great turnover numbers or a young star at safety who will cost next-to-nothing for three more seasons. In a true rarity among NFL trades, I think this is a situation where, either way, the Chiefs could have claimed a victory.
