I guess you never played tackle football or you wouldn't ask that question about pads.
PP21 hasn't put himself in a position to show his athleticism and that is one of the things myself and others are concerned about. He doesn't look like anything special.
I was expecting PP to be quicker and have better closing speed. Now I have since read that the latter is not considered one of Peterson's strengths so I'm going to watch for some other things next Saturday.
The thing is the pads weigh the same for everyone DJ, all the other guys who were slower than him at the combine, they wear pads too. He's not the only guy who slows down in a football uniform.
He has played parts of 2 games after the most unusual offseason in ages.
He signed July 30th. First practice was 8-2, it's 8-20 today.
I don't know where you read that since you didn't link it but Gil Brandt wrote this about Peterson prior to the draft.
"Peterson is built like a safety, has the speed of a corner and is an elite playmaker. He has the explosion and range to play on an island and the instincts to be effective in zone heavy schemes. He has elite ball skills and is a shifty runner that is a nightmare to take down in the open field. He is a supremely confident kid that always looks to make plays, but at times can get burned by ball fakes and double moves. Peterson is a freakishly talented football player and
might very well be the first corner back in the draft's history to be taken No. 1 overall."
If the fastest DB in the draft doesn't have closing speed then I guess there wasn't a DB in this draft who does.
DRC didn't look special in his rookie year either and he had basically a full camp and had OTA's etc. At this point guys get a bit overwhelmed with all the stuff they have to learn, especially when you've been practicing for just over 2 weeks.