Ranking the Patriots' players
Recently I listened to Tom E Curran's "Patriots Talk" podcast in which he was joined, as he usually is, by Phil Perry. The gist of the podcast was to rank the top twenty Patriots' players. one of the thoughts behind the exercise was to see who the Patriots should build around.
First, let's look at both Curran's and Perry's lists and then we'll look at mine.
Tom E. Curran
- Barmore
- Judon
- C. Gonzalez
- J. Peppers
- T. Brown
- Onwenu
- R. Stevenson
- Z. Elliott
- Tavai
- H. Henry
- Duggar
- Bourne
- K. White
- D. Andrews
- Bentley
- C. Strange
- Jonathan Jones
- A. Jennings
- D. Douglas
- D. Wise Jr.
Phil Perry
- Barmore
- C. Gonzalez
- Judon
- R. Stevenson
- T. Brown
- Onwenu
- J. Peppers
- H. Henry
- D. Andrews
- Duggar
- Bentley
- Jonathan Jones
- D. Douglas
- Tavai
- K. White
- Marcus Jones
- Godschaux
- Z. Elliott
- A. Jennings
- D. Wise Jr.
Now let's look at my list:
- Barmore
- C. Gonzalez
- R. Stevenson
- Judon
- J. Peppers
- Onwenu
- D. Andrews
- Duggar
- Uche
- T. Brown
- D. Wise Jr.
- Bentley
- K. White
- R. Jennings
- J. Jones
- D. Douglas
- Bourne
- H. Henry
- Tavai
- Mapu
It is unanimous that Christian Barmore has emerged as the best player on the team. I'm not sure how many teams can say their defensive tackle is their best player. Usually the best player plays one of the skill positions - quarterback, wide receiver, tight end. I'm not sure what it says about the Patriots that their best player is none of those. I'd like to think it is an indication of how dominant Barmore has become and not an indictment on how bad the team is. The truth lies somewhere in between.
Barmore has 8.5 sacks this season, highlighted by three sacks in one quarter against Russell Wilson and the Denver Broncos in New England's most recent game. Barmore had 1.5 sacks and 2.5 sacks in his first two seasons. Barmore is going to get paid. Will the Patriots be willing to pay him? History would say no.
Something all three lists have in common is the lack of offensive players on them. My list has four offensive players in the top fifteen. Three of those are offensive linemen. Perry had six offensive players in his top fifteen. Curran was the most generous – placing seven offensive players in his top fifteen. Then again, Curran predicted the Patriots would win 11, maybe even 12, games this year.
These rankings tell us the defense is the obvious strength of the Patriots. That is no surprise. What it also tells us is that the team isn't that far away from playoff contention. Any team would be happy to have Barmore, Judon, Gonzalez, Peppers, Duggar, or Uche on their team. By the way, why was Uche not on Curran's or Perry's lists? Am I missing something?
It is also notable that there are several young defensive players on all three lists. I had all three of the Patriots' top picks in this year's draft in my top twenty. Curran had Mapu on the bubble. Mapu has been coming on as the season progresses. He had an interception two weeks ago and forced a fumble on a kickoff return that directly led to a touchdown against Denver.
The other notable thing is that three-fifths of the offensive line shows up on all three lists – with Curran even including Cole Strange on his list. For all the early season criticism of the offensive line, when healthy, they are not too bad of a unit.
Trent Brown shows up higher on Curran's and Perry's lists. I think he is overrated and people are more infatuated with the potential of Trent Brown as opposed to the reality. I say good riddance.
In my book. Michael Onwenu is the Patriots' best offensive lineman – not Trent Brown. Things began coming together for the offensive line once Onwenu was healthy and when he was moved from guard to right tackle. Onwenu is a free agent after the season and the Patriots should spend a large chunk of their projected salary cap space money on him. The Patriots cannot afford to lose him. He represents everything the Patriots should stand for – "The Patriot Way." He just keeps his mouth shut and does his job.
I am not as high on Hunter Henry as everyone else. Everyone seems to believe the Patriots absolutely, positively, need to re-sign him this offseason. Meh. Henry has been the most reliable option for the Patriots in the passing game, no doubt. He just isn't explosive enough for me. Every one of his catches seems to be contested and he has zero run-after-the-catch ability.
Perry and Curran have Zeke Elliott on their lists. Curran has him high on his. Curran has him at number eight, directly behind Rhamondre Stevenson. Similar to Trent Brown, people are leaning too heavily on what Elliott once was. There is no debating how amazingly positive an influence Elliott has been off the field for these Patriots. I always perceived him as a bit of a diva in Dallas. I was wrong. He has brought veteran leadership to a team that has lacked it. It would have been very easy for someone of Elliott's stature to have been a major headache on a team that has struggled as much as the Patriots have. His actual play on the field, however, hasn't been inspiring. The contrast is evident even when Kevin Harris carries the ball. Overall, it has been a pleasure having Elliott around. He just doesn't factor into the Patriots' future.
It is also an indictment of Bill Belichick and the Patriots that no quarterback makes the top twenty. It is pathetic that a team's starting quarterback is not in the top half of the best players on a team's roster.
One last player I want to mention is Jahlani Tavai. For all the criticism Belichick has taken for lack of player development in recent years, Tavai has been an exception. A couple of years ago, Tavai and Myles Bryant (my hatred for Bryant has also lessened) were my two least favorite players on the team. Now I look at Tavai as a Tedy Bruschi-esque type player for this defense. He plays above and beyond his physical ability and he always seems to come up with a big play when they need it.
So, what this exercise should show us is that the Patriots aren't too far off from asserting themselves in the AFC again. Their defense is already at playoff level. They may even be at a level higher than that when everyone is healthy. Offensive skill players are the obvious need they need to address in the draft and in free agency.