Green Bay Packers free agency: Patrick Peterson a prime target

The Green Bay Packers need to address their secondary this offseason and targeting Patrick Peterson in free agency would be a massive swing.

Despite two consecutive trips to the NFC Championship Game and no Super Bowl appearances to show for it, the Green Bay Packers have to largely feel good about their current position. Aaron Rodgers is coming off an MVP season, the rest of the offense is in good shape and there are cornerstones on defense. They are just a few offseason moves and adjustments away from getting over that hump.

One of the big areas of focus for the 2021 offseason, though, is addressing the cornerback position. Green Bay has a stud on the roster in Jaire Alexander but Kevin King was a disappointment who’s now set to depart in free agency, as are other replacement-level veterans. That means they must address corner through multiple avenues.

While the draft is a terrific option for the Packers to take a cornerback, they should also look on the free agency market. And if Green Bay wants to maximize their chances, to hit it big, then they would be wise to target Patrick Peterson on the open market.

There was a report that Peterson and the Arizona Cardinals, the team that selected him fifth overall in 2011, are set to part ways but the corner refuted that, calling it a “dirty rumor”. Even still, it’s highly possible that he does venture to a new team. The Packers would be an ideal spot for him to land.

Patrick Peterson would pair perfectly with Jaire Alexander in the Green Bay Packers secondary.

It’s worth noting that Peterson has not been an elite player in recent seasons. After posting the fifth-highest grade among cornerbacks according to PFF (subscription required) in 2018, he’s ranked outside the top 40 players in each of the past two seasons while sitting outside of the top 80 this past year.

At 31 years old, it stands to reason that Peterson isn’t necessarily the top-tier cornerback he once was. However, his struggles might be overblown without the proper context.

In the simplest terms, the Cardinals defense has not been anything to write home about in recent years. More importantly, the depth at cornerback has been a viable issue. Peterson is still being relied upon to be a No. 1 corner that covers the opposition’s best pass-catcher but also asked to do so without any help.

With the Packers, that would no longer be the case. He would be teaming with Alexander, the highest-graded cornerback from the 2020 season by PFF’s metrics, and would have a ton of pressure taken off of his shoulders subsequently. Peterson could be put in favorable matchups where he wouldn’t be up against it quite as much and, just as importantly, will have a better pass rush up front to offer support.

Green Bay does have some work to do to get under the projected salary cap for the 2021 offseason while having key players to re-sign. Having said that, if they can make it work to get Peterson in the building, it would be a mistake given their current situation to not target him and make a push to ink him to a new deal.