On Peters
How early should a team select Marcus Peters?
Gruden: Did you watch the Super Bowl? Did you see Brandon Browner? Did you see Darrelle Revis? And then Malcolm Butler? Did you think those guys made a real statement against Seattle? What if I told you my No. 1 corner in this draft is Peters, but he got thrown off the team?
Kiper: That is fine.
Shaq Thompson says, "Hey, he is the first one on the practice field, he works hard in the offseason."
Gruden: What else is Shaq gonna say? What does Coach Chris Peterson say? What does Coach Steve Sarkisian say about him? What is the problem with this kid? Those are great college coaches.
Kiper: This is a heckuva football player. The way he gets in the face of these receivers, he does not back down from a challenge. He is a supremely confident football player. He is physical. He will tackle. He will play the run. Peters loves to play the game, he is enthusiastic. How many times was the guy beaten?
Gruden: Keep talking great about him, Mel. Why did he get kicked off the team, then?
Kiper: He had a disagreement with the staff.
Gruden: Really? Like what was the disagreement about? Training table? The food? The coverage? Having a meeting? Getting on a plane? Being at curfew? I mean, he got kicked off. Coaches don't kick off their best player from the team. That is a lot of smoke and there must be some fire in this young man's life here. Is there?
Kiper: I can tell you this, Jon. He is going to be a first-round pick. In this cornerback class, when you think about the guys like
Kevin Johnson of Wake Forest and
Jalen Collins at LSU and a
Byron Jones at Connecticut and Waynes at Michigan State, if it wasn't for the dismissal from the football team this year, Peters would have been a top-10 pick. I believe even though he ran that 4.5 40 at the combine he would have been top-10, top-12. Now you are probably getting Peters between 20 and 32.
Gruden: People were concerned about Aqib Talib a few years ago. I said, "Give me that Aqib Talib, No. 3 from Kansas." Well, we got Talib. My point is, Mel, Peters is my No. 1 corner. I love the talent. I realize young people make mistakes. But I don't want to have a distraction every day. Some of my veteran players might not feel the same that I do, see what I'm saying? I have to check my locker room. If I have a strong locker room, a lot of football character, like the Ravens did when they drafted Jimmy Smith, you feel like you can bring in a character and surround him with football character guys, I think you can really help a young man like this become a superstar on and off the field.
Kiper: He is a lockdown corner and if he is that, there is no way he gets into the second round, is there?
Gruden: No way. I said that about the Honey Badger, Tyrann Mathieu, too.
Kiper: This isn't the same case, though.
