NFL tradition holds that the commissioner announces each team’s first-round selection. In Rounds 2 and 3, however, the honor often goes to a former or current player with ties to the franchise on the clock.
That’s exactly what’s happening in 2025 for the Arizona Cardinals, who will have former All-Pro cornerback Patrick Peterson announce their second-round pick.
Who Is Patrick Peterson, and Why Is He Announcing the Cardinals’ Pick?
Peterson was the Cardinals’ fifth overall selection in the 2011 NFL Draft after an electric three-year career at LSU. During his time with the Tigers, he faced off against top-tier receivers like A.J. Green and Julio Jones and still came out on top, ultimately winning the Chuck Bednarik Award as the nation’s best defensive player.
LSU didn’t just use him as a lockdown corner, either. In his junior year, the staff put him on kick and punt returns, where his rare combination of athleticism, size and speed made him nearly untouchable.
Any doubts about Peterson’s NFL readiness vanished quickly. In his rookie year, he tied the league’s single-season record with four punt return touchdowns by the end of November—all from at least 80 yards. No other player in league history has matched that in a single season.
That same rookie year, he made the Pro Bowl as a return specialist. But he was also strong on defense, starting all 16 games and posting 64 tackles, two interceptions, 13 passes defended, a sack and two fumble recoveries.
Peterson’s dominance continued. He made the Pro Bowl every year from 2011 through 2018 and was named First-Team All-Pro in 2011, 2013 and 2015.
But in 2018, things took a turn. Peterson requested a trade out of Arizona, which the team declined. The following year, he was suspended six games for violating the NFL’s performance-enhancing drug policy. The suspension ended his Pro Bowl streak, as players are ineligible after such a violation.
In 2020, he signed a one-year deal with the Minnesota Vikings. While he didn’t return to All-Pro form, Peterson still showed flashes of his old self. After a second season in Minnesota, he played one final year with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He’d long admired Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin, who once scouted him in college, and spent that season mentoring young corners like Joey Porter Jr. and Cory Trice Jr.
Peterson initially hoped to keep playing, but he never returned to the field after that year in Pittsburgh. Last month, he reconciled with the Cardinals and officially retired with the franchise that drafted him.
Though he never won a playoff game, Peterson retires as one of the defining corners of his era. His final NFL résumé includes 652 total tackles, 32 interceptions, 122 pass breakups and 12 fumble recoveries.
Now, he’s back in the spotlight—this time at the podium—as he announces the Cardinals’ second-round selection in the 2025 NFL Draft.
If PFN’s latest mock draft proves accurate, Peterson could be calling the name of fellow cornerback Denzel Burke. The Ohio State standout would bring a much-needed spark to an Arizona defense that ranked 27th in PFN’s Defense+ metric last season.
Given Peterson’s own legacy at the position, he’d be the perfect person to usher in the next era of Cardinal cornerbacks.