PITTSBURGH — Soon after free-agent cornerback Patrick Peterson agreed to terms with the Pittsburgh Steelers on a two-year deal, the All-Pro unintentionally sparked a mini social media controversy.
After wearing No. 7 the last two seasons with the Minnesota Vikings (an inspiration from what he wore at Blanche Ely High in Florida and also at LSU), the Steelers’ new corner figured he’d keep the single digit in his new city.
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Just one problem. As fans made Peterson very well aware on Twitter, there’s this guy named Ben.
“I know 7 is off limits,” Peterson said Thursday with a smile, as he was introduced to the media formally at the Steelers’ facility.
Worry not. Peterson settled on No. 20, the same digits his cousin Bryant McFadden wore in Pittsburgh from 2005 to 2011 and also, coincidentally, the same number of the cornerback Peterson was paid to replace (Cameron Sutton).
Family ties 🤞 pic.twitter.com/VlsccgitQF
— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) March 16, 2023
With that settled, there’s still another number worth wondering about: 33. That’s how old Peterson will be when his 13th NFL season kicks off this fall.
“I feel like I definitely have a lot left in the tank,” Peterson said.
Peterson’s resume absolutely speaks for itself. From the moment he stepped onstage at Radio City Music Hall in New York as the fifth selection in the 2011 NFL Draft, Peterson has proved himself as one of the league’s best cornerbacks. He earned Pro Bowl invites in his first eight seasons and was named first-team All-Pro in three of those seasons.
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But now in his third NFL city and 13th season, how close is he to that elite level? And, even more importantly, does he still have the same physical gifts to excel in the press man-coverage scheme the Steelers have preferred the last several seasons?
During an impromptu YouTube live stream with McFadden following Monday’s news, Peterson said he was “done” talking about his age. However, he acknowledged Father Time, unprompted, on several instances when he was introduced Thursday.
“It’s no secret. I’m not 28 years old anymore,” Peterson said. “I’m going to be 33 here in July. The body feels great, but I want to be in a position to continue to help my team but also be in a position that’s going to continue to help me be successful. I can’t run behind these young receivers down-in and down-out. It’s all about putting me in the right position, teammates and mixing and matching coverages to make it hard for opposing offenses.”
It’s not that Peterson can’t play man coverage. Actually, it’s quite the opposite.
In many ways, Peterson made his name in this league (and made a compelling case for the Pro Football Hall of Fame) thanks to his lockdown man-coverage skills. He intercepted 28 passes playing that style for the first 10 years of his career. The way he explained it Thursday, he was so good at playing man coverage, the Cardinals’ coaching staff put him on an island and trusted him to eliminate one receiving threat.
“Early in my career, I was solely a man guy,” Peterson said. “Being in the receiver’s space. Disrupting the timing of the receiver and the quarterback at the line of scrimmage. … I haven’t been in the league for 13 years just because I was good at one thing. I was just really good at that, and that’s all they wanted me to do.”
When Peterson embarked upon the second chapter of his NFL career in Minnesota in 2021, he found a shift in philosophy that asked him to play much more zone, especially Cover 3. According to Pro Football Focus, the Vikings played zone coverage the fifth most of any team last season (77.1 percent). Compare that to the Steelers, who played zone coverage at the NFL’s sixth-lowest rate (64.7 percent).
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Peterson found the shift paid off, especially at this stage in his career. He intercepted five passes last year and broke up 15. Both of those numbers were the best since Peterson was a 22-year-old, second-year player in Arizona.
“I can play whatever is asked of me,” Peterson said. “Think about it. I had 28 picks with my back (turned away from) the quarterback (in Arizona). So I had to have the timing to get my head back around to see him.
“Now, having the opportunity to backpedal and see him set up and give me a better indication of when the ball was coming, nine times out of 10, I’m going to come out with it. Now I have the opportunity to track the ball the entire way. … I believe that’s what helped me have the year that I had last year.”
Like any team, the Steelers will mix coverages. They enjoyed lots of success last year with an inverted Cover 2, for example, in which the corners drop deep after the snap and essentially function as the two deep safeties. This particular coverage has been an effective way to confuse a quarterback by showing him something very different than his pre-snap look. It also allows Minkah Fitzpatrick to fulfill other assignments instead of just playing the deep middle.
Peterson should be effective in this scheme, which would allow him to backpedal and keep his eyes on the quarterback, given his success with the Vikings.
It will be interesting to watch how well Peterson holds up in man coverage and whether the Steelers ultimately evolve their scheme to match the strengths and weaknesses of their personnel. They are going to play some zone no matter who lines up at corner. But how much and what types of zones? That remains to be seen. It also might depend on who they draft. First-round candidate Joey Porter Jr., for example, played almost exclusively press man coverage at Penn State.
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For what it’s worth, Peterson said he’s open to anything. That includes moving around the defense in a similar way to the defensive back he replaced, Sutton. Actually, Peterson said he has been lobbying for a varied role for years.
“Going into Year 13, I always have begged my coaches, ‘Put me in other places,’” Peterson said. “I always felt like if you’re able to have a quality athlete, you just don’t want to limit him to one solid thing. You want to make it as hard as possible on the quarterback throughout downs. If he knows a guy is going to be lined up at a certain spot every single (down), he’s going to know how to avoid that guy.
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“When you have guys that not only have special talents in coverage but also (can do more), implementing a little blitz or implementing a little post safety or robber safety or whatever the case may be, that’s going to make it harder for opposing offenses to game plan for us. I don’t know what the plan is just yet, but I’m definitely going to be open for it.”
And if he succeeds, you’ll see plenty of No. 20 jerseys at Acrisure Stadium this season.
(Photo: Gene J. Puskar / Associated Press)
