If you've ever heard Kansas City Chiefs first-round pick Marcus Peters talk about his love for football, there's no mistaking that he's in his element every day he comes to the office.

This is who he is and what he was born to do.

"That's my peaceful mind, to be honest," Peters explained of what happens when he steps between the lines. "It's there for me once I touch the grass, to release everything that's in me."

Peters' passion for the game is apparent by watching him on the field, but his quiet demeanor away from the field couldn't be more contrary to the player we all see losing his mind with hopeful anticipation before the games begin on Sunday.

On the field, Peters said he's his true self.

"I'm a shy guy, but I'm real close with my inner circle," he noted, "and the Chiefs are my inner circle. So once I'm out there, I'm there to ball and have fun."

Anyone who has watched Peters play this season has seen him have plenty of fun, but to know the man under the helmet is to know what he plays this game for—respect.

That's what it's about for Peters and it's something he's mentioned often.

"It won't be said until I'm done with this game," Peters said of how he knows whether or not he's earned that respect. "For me, it's to gain respect from my teammates, first. As a rookie, your job is to learn and to do what is asked of you.

"That's how I've been raised to play this game—'Don't talk about it, be about it.' You have to go out there and put it on film and your play will show for itself."

What Peters has shown on film throughout the first eight games of his career is a performance worthy of him being in the NFL's Defensive Rookie of the Year conversation.

He has 3 interceptions and 11 passes defensed through the first eight games of the season, both of which rank in the top eight among NFL defensive backs.

Peters also ranks second on the Chiefs with 38 tackles.

From the time he was drafted, Peters wasn't expected to be anything less than a playmaking contributor to this defense. That's what was expected out of him from the leaders already here, who may not have played with Peters before but knew what his presence could do for this defense.

"The day after I was drafted I talked to Justin [Houston] and the first thing he said was that 'When you come in here, we're not going to expect for you to be a normal rookie. We have high expectations for you. We're going to be on you.'

"I took it from there and I told him, 'I'm just here to help the team win a Super Bowl. I'm just a piece to the puzzle.'"

He knows his place and he knows his role, and the two aren't the same.

"I'm still the rook, you know, but there are high expectations."

It's not cockiness, it's confidence that permeates through Peters, and he knows that it takes a certain level of mental toughness to play cornerback in the NFL.

"You have to be confident," he explained. "You have to understand and know who you are as a player. You're going to get beat sometimes; it's going to happen. I put a number in my head. Two out of three times, I'm going to get your interception. It's just there. It's just me. I have that self-confidence in myself and I understand who I am as a player.

"We're in the National Football League. Guys get paid to make plays. I get paid to do the same thing, so when my plays come, I've got to make them."

Peters and the Chiefs defense face a Peyton Manning-led Denver Broncos offense on Sunday that has given opposing defenses plenty of opportunities to make plays this season.

Manning leads the NFL with 13 interceptions.

Over the past two games, both wins, the Chiefs have snagged 4 interceptions—a stark contrast from the defense last year that had just 6 interceptions all season.

It was a focus of the offseason to create more turnovers and bringing in Peters is obviously a big reason for their success in that area this year.

Recently at Chiefs.com, fans were asked to vote on the top play from the first half of the season.

The winner?

Peters' pick-6 interception return off Manning in the Week 2 matchup at Arrowhead Stadium.

A repeat performance of that night for Peters on Sunday would be great—just don't expect him to talk about it. As his cousin Marshawn Lynch once said, he's just about that action, boss.