Patrick Peterson has been in the NFL for five seasons. In all five seasons, he has played all 16 games. In all five seasons, he has intercepted at least two passes. In all five seasons, he has made the Pro Bowl. In three of five seasons, he has been named a First-Team All-Pro. During those five seasons, he ranks second among cornerbacks in Pro-Football-Reference's Approximate Value, behind only Richard Sherman.
In other words: Patrick Peterson is really damn good. He's unquestionably among the best players in the league at his position. In Peterson's opinion, though, he is not among the best, but the very best.
"I do my talking between the white lines," Peterson said. "I show the world what my hard work does between the white lines, because that speaks more than words. And that speaks longer than words.
"I don't need to be boastful or brash. 'Oh, look at me,'" Peterson told USA Today. "I'm all about the team. I don't want to take that focus away from the team. At the end of the day, I know I'm the best. I know I can get in the face of the receiver, and I mean much more to my team versus those guys to their team."
It might be somewhat strange to say "I do my talking between the white lines" in one breath and "I know I'm the best" in the next, but when you're that good, it's kind of assumed that you think you're the best anyway. In addition to that opinion, Peterson also has thoughts on other top corners around the league, some of which shed light on why he feels he's more important to his team than other guys are to theirs.
He says that Richard Sherman, his NFC West rival, has great length and ball skills, "but hell, he has one of the best safeties in the game (Earl Thomas) playing over the top." Considering Peterson has played in a secondary with Tyrann Mathieu, Deone Buchanan (sort of), Tony Jefferson, Rashad Johnson, Antonio Cromartie, and others, it's a bit strange for him to be comparatively low on a corner because he plays with good teammates behind him, but he's not wrong. Sherman definitely has one of the best safeties in the game playing over the top.
On Josh Norman, Peterson says: "He's an up-and-coming guy. A guy who, in the media, likes to talk. But not in a bad way. That may just float his boat." Norman was pretty damn good for a few seasons before breaking out as a superstar last year, and while his dust-ups with guys like Odell Beckham Jr. and Dez Bryant got a lot of attention, his play deservedly did as well.
But maybe Peterson just doesn't like to admit that other NFC corners might be as good as him. He did say that Darrelle Revis is "still a shutdown corner, in my opinion."
