Official Draft Patrick Peterson Thread

[BowlenBall]

If we end up with the 2nd pick in the 2011 draft (and that's a big if with Tebow as our QB next week), and if Andrew Luck comes out, we'll be staring Patrick Peterson in the face when it's our turn to make a selection. Seeing how he's one of the guys we'll be endlessly debating until April, I thought he might deserve his own thread in the NFL draft forum.

Don't get me wrong -- I wish we had a stud DL at the top of the draft, but I'm not sure there is one this year who's in the class of Suh and McCoy. Also, I'm actually an even bigger fan of trading down 8-10 spots and then picking a lineman, but it's gonna be hard to pass on an Ed Reed-ish talent like this.

Here's a great read I came across today:
http://www.nola.com/lsu/index.ssf/20..._be_remem.html

Some snippets from the article:
"What astounds me about Peterson is being able to move that build, that body structure, in a way that a cornerback has to do to respond to what's happening in front of him," Purvis said. "It's almost a phenomenon."

No one appreciates Peterson more than LSU defensive coordinator John Chavis. Peterson's cover skills allowed Chavis to be flexible with his blitz packages and defenses.

Chavis is not one to toss around superlatives about players unless they really earn them, but he said Peterson's ball skills are the best he's been around, and he coached All-Americans Eric Berry and Dale Carter at Tennessee.

"Eric had good ball skills, I don't know they were as good as Pat's," he said. "Pat has best ball skills that anyone I've been around - period.

"That's something you're not born with, it's something you create. I think at an early age his dad gave him an opportunity to develop those skills over a long period of time. You get a chance to coach a guy like that maybe every 10 years. He's truly a special athlete. What makes him special is his work ethic, dedication, desire, love for the game and love of competing."