What Steelers Are Getting in Patrick Peterson
So much for business as usual for the Pittsburgh Steelers on opening day of free agency. Their default CB1 from last season, Cam Sutton, inked a three-year, $33 million dollar contract with the Detroit Lions. This move forced the Steelers to pivot at the position, with a name coming out of left field, eight-time Pro Bowl cornerback Patrick Peterson.
After a rough 2021 campaign under Mike Zimmer in Minnesota, Peterson bounced back in 2022 under new defensive coordinator Ed Donatell. The veteran was actually one of the very select few defenders on the entire roster that seemed to truly succeed in the newly installed defense.
Peterson played in every game, picking off five passes which was his highest mark since his 2012 season in Arizona.
Peterson’s contract details have been reported as a two-year, $14 million dollar deal. With that in mind, it’s certainly unfair to call Sutton and Peterson a one-for-one swap, as both players are in vastly different stages of their playing careers at the moment. Sutton was one of the franchise's few success stories at drafting and developing at the cornerback position, and seeing him out the door certainly stings a bit. But Peterson is clearly being brought in to lessen that blow, but in what ways does he help the Steelers' defense next season?
Now at 33 years old, heading into his 13th season as a pro, his age will be the talking point, but with that comes a ton of valuable experience.
Peterson was once the height/weight/speed prototype at the position, and the Cardinals asked him to shadow opposing alpha dog receivers for years on years. He’s seen every route, every release and every tactic that you can imagine.
You can also think about how many different shifts in offensive philosophies that we’ve seen over the past couple of decades. Peterson hasn’t just seen that trend or lived through it, he’s thrived through those changes in the era.
Peterson’s always been a cerebral player on the boundary, but those traits got stronger with age. Whether it’s through instincts, football IQ or film study, he showcases a unique understanding of opposing offensive route concepts and schemes. He understands leverage, spacing and where his help is on each rep.
Because he’s often a step ahead mentally, this puts him in position to become a playmaker. 34 career interceptions speak for themselves, but Peterson’s always had good hands, reactive athleticism, ability to high point and take the football away.
The Steelers led the NFL in interceptions last year, so it’s no surprise that they opted to prioritize ball skills in the secondary.
At 6-0, 200 pounds with 32-inch arms, he brings a size profile to the Steelers secondary, unlike anything that we’ve really seen since the Ike Taylor days. With his strong build, he’s not as susceptible to being boxed out and overpowered by bigger, more physical wide receivers.
Even after considering all of those boxes checked, there are still things that are a bit of a question mark, mostly surrounding his schematic fit.
Peterson’s revival last season came in a Fangio-tree system that features a ton of zone match coverage, specifically quarters coverage, where he was tasked with playing 7-8 yards off the line of scrimmage. He thrived in this system in part because he could get his eyes on the quarterback and jump passing lanes for splash plays.
That’s quite the shift from what the Steelers asked their corners to do last season, when they shifted to playing the 5th most man coverage of any team in the NFL. In addition to that, they played press coverage over double the amount of snaps as the Vikings did with Peterson in the fold.
Just in the brief amount of film that I’ve been able to digest in his first hours as a Steeler, there are hardly any true isolated man coverage reps on film. He wasn’t asked to do it but that doesn’t necessarily mean that he absolutely can’t at this stage of his career in the right situation.
Athletically, Peterson has certainly lost some of that burst and explosiveness that made him a top-five pick in the 2011 NFL Draft. At the combine, he ran a 4.38 40-yard dash at 219 pounds which is incredibly rare, but that’s the type of physical specimen that he was when he first arrived on the NFL landscape. Every 33-year-old eventually loses a step, but at least he had a pretty incredible baseline to begin with.
There are fair questions about how he’ll be used and on his All Things Covered podcast, he admitted that he hadn’t yet been given clarification about his role on the defense. However, he said that the way the team used Cam Sutton was something he liked and he wished to be a part of the team's game plan each and every week.
That last part, in particular, is interesting. Sutton has always been a chess piece for the Steelers, operating out wide, in the slot and occasionally even playing some deep safety in two-high shells. Peterson, on the other hand, has almost exclusively played on the boundary throughout his career.
Judging by his contract, Peterson is being brought in to start barring unforeseen circumstances. But if things don’t go well outside, he has the length and body type to match up with power slots and tight ends on obvious passing downs. There’s a real role for a player like that, similar to how the Cincinnati Bengals used Tre Flowers last season in sub packages.
In no way, shape or form does this signing mean that the Steelers won’t take a cornerback early in the 2023 NFL Draft. In fact, smart money says the opposite. Under Kevin Colbert’s reign, Pittsburgh frequently signed mid-low tier free agents at positions of need only to draft players at those same positions a month later.
Of course, having a future Hall of Famer as a mentor would be a pretty handy resource for a rookie. Cornerbacks have a brutal transition to the next level as is, but if Peterson can keep the seat warm while also helping bring along the rookie, that seems like an ideal dream-like scenario for all parties involved in this situation.
It’s worth referencing back to Kevin Colbert, a general manager who almost never signed free agents over the age of 30. Now the head man in charge, Omar Khan’s first free agent signing as general manager is a 33-year-old future Hall of Fame corner on day one of free agency. Times are changing in the Burgh, and it’ll be fascinating to watch it all play out.
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