Thurmond will play out of his mind (after what I saw in the preseason, I'd put my money on him as well).
He looks to be a big X-factor that teams are going to have to account for, and that's huge for a defense that is already so stout. The LOB needs a wildcard, and Thurm is the perfect player to fill that role. He's skilled at his position, a freak player, and has a huge chip on his shoulder (due to the missed games from injuries). It's not insane to think when this guy is healthy he has the potential to be the best corner on the team (ringing endorsements from Sherm, Carrol, and some media pundits can be found to validate this).
Pete put him through a lot of tests to see if he can handle a hefty workload, or show he can adapt to what his thrown his way. Thurmond came out on top, and proved he's ready to do it for an entire championship run.