Before rookie minicamp began in 2023, Garrett Williams had to choose a jersey number.
He picked No. 21 for two reasons. At the time, it was the best number available (rookies will sometimes change their jersey number after training camp when the roster trims down from 90 to 53).
It was also because legendary cornerback Patrick Peterson wore that number for the Cardinals.
"Part of picking that number was knowing that there's a certain standard that you're going to have to play to, so it's an expectation I was trying to set for myself because if you're going to wear this, you got to hoop," Williams said. "Each day I'm trying to be the best version of myself and just trying to make 21 look good in Arizona because it always has been."
Peterson was among the cornerbacks that Williams grew up watching. An eight-time Pro Bowler, Peterson was named to the NFL's All-Decade team of the 2010s.
Once Williams became acclimated in the Cardinals locker room, he began to hear stories from Budda Baker about what made Peterson a shutdown corner. Those stuck with Williams. When Peterson announced he was retiring as a Cardinal, the young cornerback wanted to be in attendance at the ceremony.
That's where they met for the first time.
"It's special," Peterson said of watching Williams wear the 21. "That two-one is a good looking number. It just looks fire. But I wore 21 because of Deion Sanders and I wanted to model my game after him and be a shutdown corner. We liked to call it, back in my day, a four-down cornerback. A guy who can play three downs, guard the receivers, and go back and catch one and take it to the house."
IN WILLIAMS' third year, that description is starting to fit the 24-year-old. After primarily being on the field in nickel and dime packages in 2023 and 2024, one of the offseason adjustments made by coach Jonathan Gannon was keeping Williams on the field in base packages.
A knee injury sidelined Williams for five weeks, but through six games, he has 25 tackles, five passes defensed, a forced fumble, and a touchdown-saving interception against the Jaguars. The takeaway occurred in the same part of the end zone where he sustained the aforementioned injury.
Against the Jaguars, Williams played every snap.
"I love the way that he plays the ball down field because a lot of DBs who come in the league don't understand how to play the ball when it's in the air," Peterson said. "He does a really good job of playing through the receivers, getting his head around at the same time, and most importantly, being really patient at the line of scrimmage."
Wins on the field are what Williams and the Cardinals are striving to accomplish. With those victories comes the personal accolades. Last year, Williams earned a spot as a second-team All-Pro from Pro Football Focus.
But respect, like he has earned from Peterson, is what fuels Williams.
"From your peers that you play with and against, and former players, and even when coaches compliment you, those are the comments you hold onto," Williams said. "(Players) understand and see the game a little bit differently. When you can get it from peers like that, it always means a lot. It's always humbling and makes you want to keep going."
It's a similar feeling for Peterson.
WHILE HIS playing days are in the past, Peterson mentioned that his football journey ends once he has a bronze bust in Canton at the Pro Football Hall of Fame. There's confidence that he can climb that mountain because of all the work he put in during his 13-year career.
When the time comes, Peterson will be a candidate for a spot in football immortality. Knowing what it takes to even get to that conversation, never settling is a trait that Peterson feels can help Williams reach All-Pro status himself.
"You want to continue getting better because there is someone out there always watching you, so you've got to be able to put that work in and put that grind in each and every week," Peterson said. "It's a new week every week and it's a new challenge that's going to rising to you. You've got to be ready to answer the bell."
It's an opportunity that Williams said he has embraced dating back to high school. Because of injuries in the Cardinals cornerback room, Williams has found himself as the veteran voice, and messages like the one Peterson shared are helpful reminders as the Cardinals hope to get back on track.
But it takes a special kind of player to help bring along everybody else. The Cardinals had that with Peterson and the "No Fly Zone." There is belief that the team has that with Williams and a young core which features Will Johnson, Denzel Burke, and Max Melton.
Fans buy the jerseys of those elite players. When fans are walking around State Farm Stadium, you will see many No. 21 jerseys with Peterson's last name.
Now, they may have Williams stitched on the back.
"Trying to be myself in every setting and situation I'm in is my biggest goal," Williams said. "I'm trying to help people along the way so we can all be great together. The only way it happens is if you're all locked in and doing it together."
