TEMPE, Ariz. – Patrick Peterson is friendly enough with just one wide receiver in the NFL to have his number, and that’s his Arizona Cardinals teammate and future Hall of Famer Larry Fitzgerald.

But Peterson is on a mission. He’s trying to befriend more receivers, especially at events like the Pro Bowl and Super Bowl, when guys have their guard down and usually are with their families.

One receiver on Peterson’s list just happens to be in town Monday night: the Dallas Cowboys' Dez Bryant.

“I would love to make some type of friendship with Dez,” Peterson said, “so we can start working out with some of these receivers in the offseason.

“Dez is a great human being off the football field. A lot of people always see him energetic on the field, always into the game, but when he’s off the field he’s just a normal human being -- loves to laugh, a great father to his kids, watching him down there at the Pro Bowl spending time with his little ones.”

If Peterson asks for Bryant’s number when the Cowboys visit University of Phoenix Stadium for Monday Night Football, he might want to do it before the game.

The last time the two faced each other, in 2014 in Dallas, Peterson held Bryant to 15 yards and a touchdown from just two catches on six targets. And Peterson is better now. He leads the NFL in yards per coverage snap with 0.26, according to Pro Football Focus. He’s second in the league in cover snaps per reception with 43 and third in cover snaps per target with 14.3.

“This should be another fun matchup,” Peterson said.

It’s one those watching from the sideline are eager to watch. Cardinals coach Bruce Arians doesn’t think Peterson or Bryant will back off from the other.

“I think as a guy who loves the game of ball, you love watching those kinds of matchups, whether you’re a coach, whether you’re a spectator, whether you’re watching the game from afar, you love competition, and those two guys are going to go compete, and I know it’s going to be a great battle between them,” Cardinals defensive coordinator James Bettcher said.

This is the type of assignment Peterson yearns for: him against an offense’s No. 1 receiver, who also happens to be one of the top receivers in the league. Bryant has nine catches for 102 yards -- tied for 45th in the NFL -- and a touchdown in two games thus far this season.

Peterson gets more “dialed in” for matchups against receivers like Bryant than he does against other receivers.

“You know you’re going to have an opportunity to make plays,” Peterson said. “You know balls are going to come your way. You know this team is not going to show away from you when they have a Tier 1 receiver like Dez Bryant. So, I’m definitely more dialed in than I am throughout the other weeks when I’m getting prepared to guard a No. 1 receiver.”

Peterson draws up his own unique game plan each week for the receiver he’ll be shadowing. This much is known every game: Peterson will press whoever he’s defending. From there, however, each game plan changes.

“It’s all predicated on what type of release he likes to give me off the line, and then that’ll predicate my game plan on how I want to play him,” Peterson said. “I think I have a good one planned. We’ll see if that works Monday night.”

Peterson crafts his game plans by himself, breaking down every potential scenario. He also considers the average number of plays he’ll face Bryant and how that’ll affect how often Peterson can show different types of coverage.

“Nine times out of 10 I’m going to be on that receiver for 60 to 70 plays, so I can’t show him the same thing over and over and over again,” Peterson said. “I have to make sure I come in there with a strategy on when to quick-jab him, when to fake him, when to play normal, so all of those things -- down and distance -- how that can predicate how aggressive I want to be in my press.

“It’s all about how he moves off the line of scrimmage. Is he a guy that gets frustrated by a press? Is he a guy that likes to hand-fight with the [cornerbacks]? Those are things that I look at and help me figure out how I want to play him.”