It didn't take long for Marcus Peters to become a household name in the National Football League. After leading the league with eight interceptions in 2015 en route to a Defensive Rookie of the Year Award, Peters emphatically avoided the age-old sophomore slump in 2016, being named a first-team All-Pro.
Peters' 2016 success is as simple as looking at his "thrown-at" numbers. According to Pro Football Focus, Peters was thrown at 87 times in 2016, after he was "thrown-at" a league-high 137 times in 2015. Despite the sharp dip in tries, Peters still managed a second-best six picks in 2016.
Peters was named the 32nd best player in the league on this year's version of NFL Network's Top 100 Players of 2017.
"Marcus Peters has been catching the ball like nobody's business since he got in the league" Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman said on the program.
"Just somehow the ball always seems to fall in his lap," Bears wideout Markus Wheaton added. "That's definitely the sign of being a good corner."
Quotable:
Peters, after playful back-and-forth exchanges with Alex Smith during offseason minicamp:"That's football baby. We're getting back into the swing of it, we're here for a couple days before we've got to be back at camp. We've got a mentality – we're trying to win the Super Bowl – it's going to be high."
2016 Season Review:
If there were any doubts after his rookie campaign, Peters silenced those critics in 2016 by performing at an even higher level and being named a first-team All-Pro.
His final stat line: 45 tackles, (35 solo) 20 passes defensed and six interceptions in 15 games played.
2017 Season Outlook:
If it's true that NFL players don't peak until their late 20s, the 24-year-old Peters could actually continue to improve as he heads into 2017, which is hard to believe given his incredible first two seasons.
The Chiefs have one of the best cornerbacks in the entire league in Peters, and he seems determined to make a championship run this season. "Super Bowl," he said. "That's the ultimate respect you get in this game – win a championship. That's a team goal. All the individual goals, they're good. The reason I'm doing my job is for my team so we can win more games."
