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Patrick Peterson is the best cornerback in the draft and you can certainly make the argument that he is the best player overall in this year’s draft. When you look at his body of work and everything else, you can certainly see why. Peterson was a shutdown corner at LSU, he played in the best conference in college football, and was the top cornerback in college football this past season. Not only is Peterson built like a safety, but he runs like a cornerback and has shown he’s extremely dangerous on special teams as well.
Many things can happen to derail a player’s career and a lot of times success is tied to the situation that a guy is put in, but Patrick Peterson has all the talent in the world and the sky is the limit for the best cornerback in the 2011 NFL Draft despite some people thinking he is too big to play the position at the next level. Patrick Peterson joined ESPN 850 WKNR in Cleveland with Tony Rizzoto talk about how excited he is about Thursday night, if he is sick of the entire pre-draft process, how he is dealing with all the rumors and mock drafts, and whether or not he has something to prove at the next level.
How excited he is about Thursday night
“It’s going to be crazy. It’s something that I’ve always dreamed about and it’s finally reality. It’s finally something that’s going to happen for me and my family that we have been waiting for for a long time.”
Whether or not he is sick of the whole pre-draft process:
“I’m not tired of it. It’s a fun process, but I’m definitely dying to see and waiting on where I’m going to land and where I’m going to be working for the next four or five years.”
How he deals with rumors and mock drafts:
“I’ve been dealing with it the same way I’ve been dealing with everything else. It’s an honor to even be on some people’s mock drafts and be in consideration as the best defensive player and best player all around in the draft. It really comes down to what a team needs. What they’re really looking for to turn that program around and what they’re trying to build around that team. I try not to pay too much attention to the mock drafts because all that does is build up a lot of tension and I definitely want to be calm and relaxed as much as possible leading up to tomorrow night.”
What surprised him the most during his visits:
“Nothing surprised me because I wasn’t there long enough, but all the visits were successful. I had a fun time and I wish I could do it all over again because it was just so crazy seeing these teams on Sunday just a year ago and now you’re getting scouted by these guys.”
Whether or not he always wanted to be an NFL player:
“Always wanted to be an NFL player, not only an NFL player, but someday an NFL star.”
If he feels like he has something to prove:
“I definitely have something to prove when I come into this league. All you hear about is he’s too big or he’s going to be a safety. I just can’t wait till my first game, my preseason game or my first game on Sunday to prove America wrong again. They said I wasn’t fast enough then I ran a 4.32. Now they say I’m too big and I just have to prove them wrong again.”
Is it weird that now people are talking about you being too big?
“I’m doing a lot of things that little guys can’t do. It’s all how you approach it and work at your craft. That’s something I do and that’s something that I cherish. I want to be the best at my position and that’s why I work so hard. I love when people doubt me and say he’s too big or he may not be that star that he was in college going to the next level. They work at their craft to be the best that they are right and that’s something I’m going to do as well.
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