Los Angeles Rams: Marcus Peters will surprise everyone in 2019
By Jason Reed
The Los Angeles Rams’ cornerback duo of Marcus Peters and Aqib Talib disappointed last year but Peters is primed to come back strong in 2019.
It was an exciting offseason for the Los Angeles Rams prior to the 2018 season. After making the playoffs for the first time in 13 years, the front office went all-in on the offseason, adding some huge names in the process.
As a result, the Rams were even better in 2018 and marched all the way to Super Bowl LIII, where they fell victim to the New England Patriots. While they did not win the ultimate goal, the team gained valuable experience and is still a Super Bowl contender for years to come.
Most of the external players that the team brought in came in and had the kind of impact that fans had hoped for. The exception to this being the cornerback duo of Marcus Peters and Aqib Talib, who were very underwhelming, to say the least.
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While they were still better than what the Rams did have, the two did not create a lockdown secondary as some had hoped for. Instead, Talib showed his age and inability to stay on the field for an entire season and Peters looked anything but the lockdown corner he was in Kansas City.
It hit rock bottom for Peters against the New Orleans Saints in the regular season. Michael Thomas, who was lined up against Peters for most of the game, caught 12 passes for a season-high 211 yards and a touchdown. Peters was the butt of the joke and for the rest of the year, his stock took a major hit.
Overall, Peters had just three interceptions and eight pass deflections, both career lows and far off from the All-Pro performances he put together in Kansas City.
After that kind of campaign, it is safe to say that Ram fans are not expecting much out of Peters in 2019. And while it is perfectly fine to keep the expectations low, Marcus Peters will still blow them out of the water with a very solid season for the Los Angeles Rams.
The important thing to remember is that Peters is entering a contract year and that fuels every athlete to perform. Knowing this is his last year to convince teams to sign him to a decent contract in the offseason, Peters should be in the best shape of his life and should be as determined as ever.
And it is not even like Peters is getting up there in age. Peters just turned 26 years old in January and easily has at least four more prime years in front of him. His downwards trend in the last two years might indicate otherwise but Peters is only going to get faster and stronger over these next three-four seasons.
Cornerbacks often do not have an extremely long career but it is not like Peters has been in the league for quite some time. He still has a lot to prove in the league and arguably has not even hit his ceiling yet. With the right work ethic and the right defensive schemes, Peters definitely is talented enough to have an extremely impactful year.
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If anything, there are more signs pointing to a positive year for Peters than a negative year. Expect a big turnaround for the Los Angeles Rams cornerback unit as a result.