Mike Tomlin raves about Patrick Peterson's impact in Pittsburgh

New Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Patrick Peterson is clearly living up to head coach Mike Tomlin’s expectations. A veteran corner and, at his peak, one of the best shutdown corners in the league, Peterson has certainly provided playmaking for the Steelers.

But his presence in the organization off the field had Tomlin heaping praise on Peterson in an NFL Network interview during training camp on Saturday. Tomlin said Peterson has been exactly the sort of player he loves to have around.

Forget his talents and his playmaking ability, just being around him day to day is exactly what I’ve heard over the years and I’m excited about experiencing. He’s a quality human being and professional,” Tomlin said.

Peterson, who played 10 seasons in Arizona before spending 2021 and 2022 with the Minnesota Vikings, is someone who a lot of the current Steelers have looked up to and tried to emulate. For a team with plenty of youth on both sides of the ball, Tomlin thinks having a player some of the younger Steelers once idolized around — and setting a sterling example — is going to pay dividends.

And that’s before Peterson gets on the field.

“One that these guys kind of grew up on in some instances and for them to be shoulder to shoulder with him day-to-day and see the reality of him, to see how professional he is, to see how dialed in and how much he loves football. It’s just an asset to us. Not only his playmaking but all of those other components of him,” Tomlin said.

He compared the presence to another time the Steelers brought in a veteran cornerback.

“Reminds me so much of Joe Haden when we acquired him a number of years ago and the intangible things that he brought along with his talents,” Tomlin said.

Earlier in the week, Tomlin laid out expectations for quarterback Kenny Pickett in his second season

Now going into his second season, the expectation is Kenny Pickett’s development really hits overdrive.

That’s what Steelers fans are ready to see from the first-round pick.

“We’ve got to maintain possession of the ball,” Tomlin said. “We’ve got to maintain a scoring pace. We’ve got to be well-balanced. We’ve got to utilize our eligibles and their talents. We’ve got to protect our quarterback. There’s a lot of layers to that discussion, but that’s why we’re here.”

Pickett threw for 2,404 yards with seven touchdowns and nine interceptions on 63.0% passing. He added 237 yards and three scores on the ground.