Patrick Peterson was selected 5th overall by the Arizona Cardinals in the 2011 NFL Draft. Peterson is an incredible talent out of LSU and will immediately play a role in the Cardinals' possible resurgence in the NFC West this season.
Peterson won a lot of awards last season, including the Bednarik award (nation's best defensive player) and the Thorpe award (nation's top corner). He may also challenge LaRod Stephens-Howling for kick returns.
With Peterson in place, the Arizona Cardinals are now prime candidates for a Super Bowl... wait a minute! Don't the Cardinals need a quarterback?
Unless Patrick Peterson moonlights as a scout team quarterback for the Tigers down in Baton Rouge, he's not going to take snaps under center and direct this team to respectability.
If there's anything that this pick tells us, it's that the rumors about Marc Bulger may be very, very real. If Arizona was planning on rebuilding, they would have traded this pick to the Falcons in a very similar fashion to the way Cleveland did for Julio Jones.
With a talented nucleus on offense and a suddenly respectable pass defense, the Cardinals are primed to improve upon the abomination that was last season. Once the Cards sign a veteran signal caller to lead this team to a .500 (or better) record, this pick will be even smarter.
Kudos to the Cardinals staff, who know that the window of opportunity is still open for the current crop of talent they have signed through next season. Should Andy Dalton be available in the second round, expect Arizona to jump all over him.