Vikings CB Patrick Peterson hoping to return to Arizona form

In Arizona, Patrick Peterson was an elite cornerback for a decade (2011-2020). He put together a Hall of Fame portfolio in the desert by earning eight consecutive Pro Bowl appearances to start his career, along with three First-Team All-Pro nods. He played a full season in each of those first eight seasons too. He started all 154 games that he played in for Arizona. He is one of the greatest players to ever play for Arizona, and he might just be the Cardinals' greatest defensive player of all time. Now in Minnesota, Peterson is looking to get back to some of that success after his worst year as a pro statistically.

In his first season with the Minnesota Vikings in 2021, Peterson recorded career lows in passes defensed and interceptions, and he played the second-fewest amount of games in his career (13). The former LSU Tiger also recorded his second-fewest number of solo tackles (34) in his career. But the Florida native will have an opportunity to have a clean slate with yet another head coach. First-year Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell will be Peterson's sixth head coach in his career and his third in the last three seasons. There are also some things that Peterson can build off from his down 2021 season. He recorded his first pick-six since 2014. He started every single game that he played in. He also recorded the most assisted tackles in his career (11). 

If Peterson can bounce back and have a solid 2022, the Vikings defense will easily be a top-10 unit. They have stars at every level. Peterson joins safety Harrison Smith, middle linebacker Eric Kendricks, outside linebacker Danielle Hunter and outside linebacker Za'Darius Smith as fellow All-Pro performers. The future Hall of Famer in Peterson will have a big role in Minnesota's hopeful playoff run this season.