It’s Commanders-Steelers this Sunday in DC, and Patrick Peterson, who played for Pittsburgh just last season before becoming an Audacy NFL insider, is also an LSU guy and a corner, so a lot things Commanders on his plate right now.
Right off the bat, though, Kevin Sheehan took him back to the bayou to weigh in on fellow Tiger alum Jayden Daniels’ rookie season so far.
“He’s been phenomenal so far throughout his rookie campaign, picking up right where he left off in college. I think it was a perfect marriage between him and Kliff Kingsbury, because he's running a lot of the things that he actually had the opportunity to run at LSU,” Peterson told Kevin. “So, he came into a familiar play-calling system or situation that made the transition easy for him, and that's on full display.”
Peterson played for Kingsbury in Arizona, so he’s well-versed in what a Kingsbury system looks like, and right now, everything is a perfect fit in DC.
“Kliff’s a great guy; he keeps it loose, and has a great feel of understanding the athletes that he needs in his system to help it flourish. I think it was a great combination for him and Dan Quinn to be matched up,” Peterson said. “Washington has a lot of talent at the running back position, and he understands the guys he needs in his offense in order for it to go. That’s why I feel like he picked Washington – he felt they were gonna have a quarterback that fits his style as far as being able to be mobile and take off when he can, but also take those shots down the field.”
Moving to his position proper, the Commanders just picked up Marshon Lattimore at the trade deadline, and, once again, a perfect fit for these Commanders.
“That move told me they feel like they have a team that can compete and go win right now. We know that in the NFL, the window is very narrow unless you're the Chiefs, but they felt that they needed a cover corner to be able to stop some of these receivers late in the year,” Peterson said. “We’re moving into November, your team is pretty much well formed, but you kinda understand what you need moving forward, and they felt like they needed a true cover corner – and they got that in Lattimore. He’s going to help the defense, but also help the young corners that they have there on how to watch film, how to prepare, how to be a pro and things like that. So, this was a big move for the Commanders to pick up Lattimore at this stage of his career and at this stage of their season.”
Add everything together right now, and are the Commanders truly an NFC contender?
“Right now, with what they've been showing me? Yes, I really do see them as a legitimate NFC contender, just because of what the offense is doing, and the defense is getting better week in and week out,” Peterson said. “I believe the system on the defensive side of the ball is not really put in the way that Dan would like it to be, so I'm sure there's a couple more exotic blitzes he wants to add in there – and now that he has Latimore, maybe he can roll coverages away from guys and you may see a little bit different style of play calling moving forward.”
Take a listen to Peterson’s entire visit above, as he scouts the Steelers ahead of Sunday, goes more in depth on what Lattimore can bring to the defense, and more!