Patrick Peterson is the best player in the 2011 NFL Draft.

The Bucs enter 2011 with a bit of uncertainty at corner. Ronde Barber is getting a little long in the tooth and Aqib Talib can’t keep out of trouble. The Bucs seemed pretty set at the position just a couple of months ago, but today things don’t look so clear. If the Bucs weren’t considering drafting a corner this year before, they almost have to now. Regardless of what determination the team comes to on Aqib Talib this year, I don’t see them wanting to invest a lot in him long-term. Either this year or next the Bucs are going to need to target a top-tier corner.

This isn’t a bad class for corners, but in truth there are really only two or three clear-cut studs in the class and a lot of prospects with questions facing them. The Bucs, at 20, likely won’t get the top two corners in the class and will have to decide whether or not they want to roll the dice on another DB with potential character issues. Chances are Tampa will look front seven in round one, spend a mid-round pick on a corner and then revisit the position in free agency or again next year.

Here are the top corners in the 2011 NFL Draft:

1.) Patrick Peterson, LSU – Peterson is the unquestioned best player in the 2011 NFL Draft. How dominant was Peterson last year in college? He won the Bednarik Award as the nation’s best defender, the Thorpe Award as the nation’s best defensive back and was named the SEC’s Defensive and Special Teams MVP’s. And he did it as a junior. Peterson is just 20 but he has the kind of athleticism and instincts that rarely come in one package, he combines ideal size for a corner with 4.31 speed and freakish athletic ability. There are little things here and there that Peterson can address to improve his game, but he is the most complete player with arguably the highest ceiling of anyone in the 2011 draft class. Peterson will be out-of-the-box ready for the NFL, he’ll contribute immediately on defense and special teams (he is an elite return-man) and should develop into an upper-echelon cover corner.

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