We have another significant retirement in the NFL, as it has been revealed that Defensive Back Patrick Peterson will be retiring on Monday.

A superstar at LSU, Peterson won the 2010 Chuck Bednarik Award, the Jim Thorpe Award, and the Jack Tatum Award, which vaulted him to the number five pick overall in the following draft.  The Arizona Cardinals were the fortunate organization to land Peterson, who brought a sweet blend of size, speed, and football IQ, which made him one of the most versatile Defensive Backs of the 2010s.

Peterson wasted no time in establishing himself in the NFL.  A starting Cornerback from day one, Peterson began his career with eight straight Pro Bowls, earning three First Team All-Pros along the way.  The former LSU Tiger was so dominant in the 2010s that he was selected to the 2010s All-Decade Team.  He finished his career with two years in Minnesota and one in Pittsburgh and compiled 36 Interceptions and 652 Combined Tackles.

Peterson last played in 2023, which makes him eligible for the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2029, and in our pre-2024 Notinhalloffame Football monitor, he was ranked #13.

We here at notinhalloffame.com would wish Patrick Peterson the best in his post-playing career.

The Cardinals’ history of defensive backs is legendary, and in spring 2011, they welcomed another top talent into that legacy. Patrick Peterson, an LSU graduate and winner of the Bednarik and Thorpe Awards, entered the NFL as an exceptionally athletic, high-profile prospect. Chosen fifth overall in the 2011 draft, Peterson combined impressive size, blazing speed, and smooth hips, quickly making a significant impact as a standout defender in Arizona.

What set him apart was his skill to move across the field in true man-to-man coverage, shadowing the main receiver no matter their alignment. Peterson exhibited great physical confidence, using his length to disrupt routes at the line of scrimmage and boasting elite recovery speed to close any vertical gap. Beyond his lockdown abilities, his open-field awareness and rapid, fluid movements made him a dynamic, game-changing asset in the kicking game.

His rookie 2011 season was one of the most explosive in franchise history, especially on special teams. He started all 16 games at right cornerback and dominated return coverage. Peterson tied the NFL record with 4 punt return TDs, including a stunning 99-yard game-winner in overtime against St. Louis. He led the league with 699 punt return yards, earned his first Pro Bowl and First-Team All-Pro honors as a return specialist, and also recorded two interceptions. His four punt return TDs in 2011 set an NFL record for rookies and made him the only rookie in league history to achieve this.

In his sophomore 2012 season, Peterson made the permanent shift to the left cornerback spot, fully taking on the responsibility of locking down the opposition's top target. He responded with 7 interceptions and 5 fumble recoveries, earning his second Pro Bowl nod. That marked the start of an incredible run of individual consistency. Over his first eight seasons in Arizona (2011–2018), Peterson was voted to eight consecutive Pro Bowls, joining an elite group of defensive players in NFL history to accomplish that feat to open a career.

During Bruce Arians' competitive era with the Cardinals, Peterson led defenses that propelled deep playoff runs. His outstanding coverage led to First-Team All-Pro selections in 2013 and 2015, playing a key role in reaching the 2015 NFC Championship. Quarterbacks often avoided targeting his side, reducing his target count and enabling the Cardinals to allocate additional safety support elsewhere.

His decade-long run in Arizona drew to a close following the 2020 campaign, after which he signed with Minnesota in free agency. Across his ten seasons in the desert, Peterson suited up for 154 games, accumulating 28 interceptions, 91 pass deflections, 499 tackles, and 4 return touchdowns.

The 2023 National Football League Season begin tonight, and we are ready with our revised list of the top 150 active (or hoping to be) players based on their existing Hall of Fame resume.

This is our fourth pre-season monitor, and you can find it all here.

A quick synopsis shows that we have the following:

19 Quarterbacks are ranked, including a brand new number one overall, Aaron Rodgers, now of the New York Jets. Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes rocketed to #10 and Russell Wilson of the Denver Broncos regresses to #11.

Only 12 Running Backs are ranked, with no player in the top 25 overall. The surprising top player at this position is Alvin Kamara of New Orleans.

Wide Receivers are more represented with 21 on the list. Julio Jones is the only one in the top ten (we still rank Free Agents who we think have a shot to return) with three others in (#18 Tyreek Hill, #20 DeAndre Hopkins and #24 Davante Adams) in the top 25.

Only 5 Tight Ends are ranked with Travis Kelce at #7.

22 Offensive Lineman are on the list, including three players in the top ten (#6 Zack Martin, #8 Trent Williams and #9 Jason Peters). There are two other players in the top 25 with Jason Kelce (#12) and Tyron Smith (#16).

On the defensive side, there are 23 Defensive Lineman, led by the Rams’ Aaron Donald, who is ranked #2 overall. Other Defensive Lineman in the top 25 are #17 Cameron Jordan, #19 Calais Campbell and #25 Ndamukong Suh.

With the Linebackers, we have the only position where there are two in the top five, which are Seattle’s Bobby Wagner and Buffalo’s Von Miller who are #3 and #4 respectively. There are 19 overall, and two more in the top 25, #14 Khalil Mack and #15 T.J. Watt.

There are 13 Cornerbacks who are ranked, led by Patrick Peterson of the Steelers at #13. There is one other Cornerback in the top 25 with Jalen Ramsey at #23.

At the Safety position, there are 12 who are ranked, but it takes you all the way to #63 (Minkah Fitzpatrick) before we see our first one.

There are five Special Teams players, led by Ravens Place Kicker, Justin Tucker at #23.

As always, we thank you for your support of the site and look for more improvements, content and lists in the future.

We are excited here at Notinhalloffame.com that we are unveiling a new section, which looks at the top active players in the big four of sports and how they are positioned at the start of each seasons in regards to Hall of Fame credentials.

We are beginning with Pro Football, and how perfect is that considering the seasons kicks off this week.  Rather than list everyone directly, we have isolated them based on their position and with the exception of Special Teams, we have created a new stat based on the last five modern players (not senior inductees) of their respective position and how the current player compares with that.

This will be updated annually, so this 100 was finalized this week. We will not be updating again until the end of the season.

The new section begins here

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to thank you all for your continued support and we hope that you enjoy this new section!