Through his first three seasons in the NFL, Los Angeles Rams cornerback Marcus Peters has established as one of the top talents in the league at his position. He has quickly shown to be a game-changing defensive back that has unique ability in the secondary.
In a recent piece for NFL.com, former wide receiver and current NFL Network analyst James Jones ranked the 10 top cornerbacks in the league to which he placed Peters as the seventh best player at the position in the league heading into the 2018 campaign:
“The definition of a ballhawk, Peters leads the league in interceptions (21) since 2015, including the playoffs. Only Ed Reed has more INTs (22) in the first three seasons of a player’s career in the last 25 seasons. Peters could still use work in man coverage, but he excels in zone coverage, often jumping routes and taking advantage of poor throws. Now that the ex-Chief is in Los Angeles, I’m really looking forward to watching him pair up with fellow new-Ram Aqib Talib under the direction of defensive coordinator Wade Phillips, who should elevate the 25-year-old’s game to the next level.”
Although Peters is further down the list than what many would have placed, him he is clearly an elite talent in the secondary. He has shown great ability to be a lockdown press coverage cornerback that has strong ball skills to make a play on the ball that has often led to creating turnovers either through interceptions over forcing fumbles.
Peters has also shown the innate ability and decision making to jump routes at key moments to make big plays for his team. He will have the opportunity to do just that with the Rams while being paired alongside another stout cornerback in Pro Bowler Aqib Talib next season in Los Angeles. The two could quickly become one of the most formidable duos that opposing teams could have much difficulty finding consistent success going up against in the passing game.
On the list, Peters was ranked below the likes of Xavier Rhodes, Jalen Ramsey, Richard Sherman, Darius Slay, Patrick Peterson, and Casey Hayward. The 2018 season could be a prime opportunity for him to showcase that he deserves to be higher on that list.
