I have already had one post about Patrick Peterson and the new breed of DB taking over the NFL, well here is another article focusing more on Peterson and why teams won't draft him #1 overall. Patrick is the "do everything" DB from LSU, a guy who was a starter on a National Championship contending team the moment he stepped on campus as a freshman 3 years ago. This is a guy who has prototypical safety size (6'1/4" - 219lbs) but cornerback speed, quickness, and instincts. He will also jump into the Top 10 return threats in the NFL the moment he is drafted. I believe that Peterson is a once every 10 year type player, someone that can lock up 1-on-1 against a teams best receiver and shut him down, or shut down 1/2 of the field. Similar to a Darrelle Revis except Peterson's career will have 2 stages and that is why he is different then a Revis type. Stage 1 he will be a regular All-Pro and Pro Bowl cornerback for at least 10 years. Stage 2 he will move to safety and revive his career and be a perennial All-Pro and Pro Bowl safety, much like Rod Woodson did and like Charles Woodson and Champ Bailey will probably do. Most draft "experts" have Peterson listed as the safest pick in the draft and the guy who may very well have the best Pro career out of anybody out there, and yet I am hearing that he "Cannot and Will Not" go #1 overall to the Panthers, and that he would not go #1 to any team that had that pick.
If you are like me you are wondering, why would this guy not be the #1 overall pick? Well the thinking is, that because a team can basically take him out of the game by not throwing at him or if he is returning kicks, just not kick to him. Unlike a defensive lineman who has a chance to make a sack or make a play every snap, or a quarterback who has the ball in his hands every play, a DB can be taken out of the game. That is true, but if you take a DB out of the game by not throwing at him, he will neutralize your best offensive receiving threat if he plays man coverage, or he could take away half the field if he is playing zone. To me that is a pretty big advantage. Nobody is saying that Nnamdi Asomugha & Darrelle Revis aren't worth top player in the league money, or that Deion Sanders & Champ Bailey weren't worth it when they were in their prime; so why is Peterson not worth the #1 overall pick when he could be a defensive cornerstone for almost 20 years?!?!?! I just don't get it.
Lets take a look at the 2007 draft, the Oakland Raiders took QB JaMarcus Russell at #1, Tampa Bay took DE Gaines Adams #4, the Redskins took Laron Landry at #6, Atlanta took Jamaal Anderson at #8 followed by Ted Ginn Jr. taken by the Dolphins,the NY Jets nabbed Revis at #14. I could keep going on with busts taken before Revis, I bet all those teams wish they would have spent their top 10 pick on Revis now. In the 1999 draft Champ Bailey was taken #7 overall, Tim Couch was #1, Akili Smith and Ricky Williams were also drafted before Champ. Was Bailey not worth the #1 overall pick? I think my point has been made.
Next up: What will change the way teams draft? Why do they feel they have to draft the next Peyton Manning, Reggie White, or Orlando Pace at #1? Why do they shy away from possibly better players at the DE, G, C, LB or DB spot?
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