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Marcus Peters visited the Pittsburgh Steelers last week, giving the appearance that the team is still considering drafting the Washington cornerback. And they would likely have to do so with their first-round pick since Peters is too talented to fall to where the Steelers pick in the second round (No. 56 overall) even though he got kicked off Washington’s team last November following a series of run-ins with the coaching staff.  Washington coach Chris Petersen appeared on NFL Network Tuesday night and he was asked what he would tell NFL general managers and head coaches who call him about Peters.
“I think everybody knows Marcus is really talented and I think any time you go through hard things like we did last year with Marcus the objective is that we all learn from it and get better,” Peters said on NFL Network’s Path to the Draft. “We’ve talked to Marcus and I think we have (learned) and we hope that he has a really good NFL career.” I’m not sure what to make of what Petersen said about the player who is arguably the most talented cornerback in the draft. At first blush, it appears to be a lukewarm endorsement of Peters and it makes you question what Petersen is saying in private conversations with NFL brass as opposed to on national TV. It is worth noting that Petersen welcomed Peters back for Washington’s pro day. His quote is also worth closer examination. It could be Petersen is saying that the Huskies coaching staff, which was a new one, had some culpability in the clashes that brought a premature end to Peters’ college career. That maybe coaches did not handle him properly and made mistakes of their own. The cynical view of Petersen’s quote is that the Huskies coaches learned not to let a problem fester to the point it did with Peters. And to cut ties quicker with a problem player no matter how talented he is. The distinction between two possible interpretations of Petersen’s quote is critical for teams such as the Steelers. One paints Peters as a player who had personality differences with a new coaching staff and that both could have handled the situation better. If that is the case it would go a long way toward allaying concerns about how receptive Peters is to coaching -- and convincing teams that what happened last season was an aberration. If what Petersen said on the NFL Network is diplomatic code for glad you are someone else's headache now but good luck to you at the next level, it might give teams pause if they are considering using a first-round pick on Peters.
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