The New England Patriots are really good at football. In case you forgot or if you just like facts that back up your previous opinion (don’t we all?), our friends at ESPN reiterated this. Actually no, a lot of Patriots fans don’t like ESPN. They think a lot of them have an anti-Patriots bias.
Regardless of your opinion, they put out a list of the top-100 players in the NFL, and it doesn’t seem to be anti-Patriots at all. In fact, there’s seven Patriots guys on the list, and all of them are in the top-70. The only gripe is their rankings are some weird slide show. I hate those “articles”. Just show me the info and don’t worry about page clicks for the sake of fraudulently charging more for advertising. Anyhoo, here’s the Patriots dudes who made the list.
No. 1 Tom Brady — Damn straight he’s No. 1. Let’s all stop pretending that Aaron Rodgers is the best quarterback in the NFL. Sick and tired of it. He’s excellent, but not quite Brady.
No. 11 Rob Gronkowski — Best tight end in the NFL when he’s healthy. Hard to argue against that.
No. 45 Brandin Cooks — What a pickup this was. He had 1100 receiving yards in each of his first two NFL seasons and with Julian Edelman hurt, this pickup gives the Pats the safety net they need offensively.
No. 54 Dont’a Hightower — When you strip sack Matt Ryan in the Super Bowl and spark a comeback, you’re gonna be high on the list. The massive outside linebacker is the best player on the Patriots defense.
No. 55 Devin McCourty — Last season, McCourty earned his first Pro Bowl nod since becoming a safety. It’s been a good fit for him these past few years.
No. 56 Malcolm Butler — Super Bowl 49 interception. Need I say more?
No. 69 Stephon Gilmore — Gilmore had five picks for the Bills last year. Unexpected pickup, but a welcome one indeed. Good luck passing on these guys!
Just saying, if Julian Edelman were healthy, he’d also be on this list..