Arizona Cardinals: Following the Peterson news, Byron Murphy will play early

Out goes Patrick Peterson, in goes Byron Murphy at cornerback for the Arizona Cardinals. At least, for the first six games of the 2019 season.

With the recent news that Patrick Peterson is being for the first six games of ’19 season due to performance-enhancing drugs, rookie Byron Murphy should be thrown into the fire early. Along with veteran addition Robert Alford, the No. 33 overall pick will help support the Arizona Cardinals secondary until Peterson comes back against the New York Giants on October 20th.

Cardinals fans shouldn’t be too worried about his rookie replacement. The Arizona native and Washington product was regarded by many as the best cornerback in his draft class, including Pro Football Focus. The analytics firm gave him an elite rating of 92.0 and ranked him as their sixth-best prospect in the draft. It’s safe to say that Murphy knows what he’s doing.

With a career six interceptions and passer rating against of 54.1, per PFF, Murphy should be dubbed as your prototypical shutdown, ball-hawking corner. He’s not a freak athlete, nor is he the most experienced, which raises some questions about his pro-readiness. But, his game and success in limited action (four interceptions, nine pass deflections in 2018), should make up for those negatives.

Murphy has an astute football IQ. He has a sixth sense when it comes to snuffing out routes and breaking them up at the catch point. To pair along with his incredible football intelligence, Murphy brings physicality to the position. He has excellent redirect power in his hands to jam the receiver at the press.

Again, Murphy isn’t the biggest or fastest cornerback. He measures in at 5-foot-11, and 190-pounds and ran a 4.55 second 40-yard-dash at the combine. But, he’s an ideal fit as a zone, press cornerback in the 3-4, and figured to start day-one with or without Peterson in-fold.

Although Murphy isn’t the man coverage Peterson was when he was entering the league, those in the desert don’t panic. Murphy is more than capable of being thrust into the primary role and dominate. Defensive coordinator Vance Joseph will have to modify his playbook, but the Cardinals are in a better situation than most think.

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