Simple question. Do New England Patriots cornerbacks overperform? After J.C. Jackson was benched last night for the Chargers, it made me sit and wonder about all of the cornerbacks that have played under Bill Belichick. Some may wonder if it revives their career if it was their best chance to win at the time or if it was just pure luck.
Well, today I am going to break down every top cornerback New England has had who eventually played somewhere else and compare. For the sake of the article, I will refer to each player as a boom or bust. Boom means they performed well when they left and bust means they are a product of being under a Belichick defense.
NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS CORNERBACKS
J.C Jackson
Starting with J.C. Jackson. Obviously this is the freshest of the bunch to depart from Foxboro. Jackson signed a five year contract worth 82.5 million this past off season. While he missed the first two games for Los Angeles due to off season ankle surgery, he has clearly not performed up to the level of his contract.
In New England, Jackson was consistently one of the best man to man corners in the NFL. Finishing in second the last two season in interceptions in the league, Jackson has seemingly lost his touch so to say.
In four games this year, Jackson has already been beaten for two touchdowns and only has one pass breakup. When targeted, he’s being beaten about 75% of the time which is crazy to think that the highest reception rate he has for a season is 54%.
The Chargers also are using him a bit differently than he was used in New England as he lines up in the box more. He has 35 snaps in the box this year though four games. The highest he’s ever had was 69 in 18 games in 2021. Overall Jackson is a fine player and I blame his early season struggles on not having an offseason really due to injury but for the time being I am calling him a Bust.
Stephon Gilmore
Stephon Gilmore for sure is one of the greatest cornerbacks to play for the Patriots. Although he did leave on sour terms when he was suiting up for New England there was nobody better in the game. In New England he had the highest coverage rating each season according to Pro Football Focus (PFF).
Coverage rating is all of the defensive statistics for corners and safeties which is similar to Wins Above Replacement (WAR) in baseball and Player Efficiency Rating (PER) in basketball. It is a rating of how well a player performed in coverage for a specific season.
In his 2018, Gilmore was the Defensive Player of the Year. He totaled twenty pass breakups, four interceptions, and six touchdowns given up on 119 targets. Not to mention a receptions rate of 44%, which is an NFL record for a cornerback for a season.
Since leaving Gilmore has been okay. I wouldn’t compare him to his DPOY season but he’s no slouch either. If you look at his stats last year in Carolina and this year in Indianapolis, he actually is right in the middle in terms of career averages in coverage. Despite having a reception rate that is higher than the median, every other stat is right in line with how he has played outside of his 2018 season. I will call Gilmore a boom, although it’s no coincidence the best years of his career were in New England.
Asante Samuel
Drafted out of UCF in the fourth round in 2003 is Asante Samuel. Many don’t remember but Samuel burst onto the scene for the Patriots in 2006. He had arguably one of the best seasons a cornerback has ever had. Samuel had 21 pass breakup and 12 interceptions. He gave up just over 50% on completions while giving up just one touchdown in coverage.
Asante Samuel picks off Peyton Manning for the PICK-6. TO THE HOUSE! pic.twitter.com/afdtMUzzn3
— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) April 20, 2020
Samuel’s athleticism and speed was one of a kind when watching him as a kid. He would just dominate players and similar to Ty Law and after Law’s departure from New England this is when Samuel really started to shine
When he left the Patriots after the 2007 season, he would play four years in Philadelphia and two in Atlanta. The most consistent stretch of his career was from 2009 to 2012 when his total coverage rating was always above 80. With his career average being 73.1 it is impossible to call Asante Samuel a bust because the most success he had was after he left New England. Similar to Gilmore though, it’s no coincidence that his best season as a pro came here in New England.
Aquib Talib
Talib, who is most remembered for snatching Micheal Crabtree’s chain, is the sole outlier of players who actually were worse here in New England. Talib had his worst two seasons as a pro. Although he did have six interceptions and 16 pass breakups he allowed more yards per catch in those two seasons than any other.
He was an electric player for the Patriots, but he gave up 1,441 yards on 155 targets. For a player who wasn’t targeted that much and still allowed that many yards it is no wonder why Belichick let him walk in 2014.
Talib would go onto having a solid career with the Broncos and Rams as he would steadily climb to being one of the highest rate cornerbacks in the NFL. He would also improve on his tackling. Talib was averaging a tackling percentage of sixtyish percent so people were breaking tackles on him all the time early in his career. As he got older that number would creep up to the low eighties which is a vast improvement. Talib won a Super bowl with the Broncos and was First team All Pro in 2016 so he is a boom for sure.
Malcolm Butler
As all Patriots fans remember Malcolm Butler was the hero who saved the Patriots Super bowl 49. For Butler that would be the career defining moment for him as he would go onto being a solid pro but one who was over valued by his fanbase and by the media.
Butler’s 2016 campaign was his best as he played the most snaps in his career as well as pass breakups and second most interceptions. He was targeted the most in his career as well as had the lowest reception rate of his career.
After Butler left New England he would go onto Tennessee where he would be an average player. He would be plagued by injuries from 2018 on and it was a real shame to see a player who was loved so much have a career end up the way his did. I will call Butler a bust as he was a product of Bill Belichick finding an undrafted player and turning them into suitable players within the confines of his scheme.
Many people still question the decision to bench him in the Super Bowl against the Eagles and truly do not know the entire story why he was sat. Coming back this year to the Patriots this year to try to play again would ultimately not pan out as he would be placed on injured reserve and then be released in late August.
Logan Ryan
Many people forget the bridge between Macolm Butler and Aquib Talib but Logan Ryan burst onto the scene as a rookie in 2013. He was partially responsible for why the Patriots would let Talib walk. Ryan would compile 14 interceptions and 35 pass breakups in his four years in New England.
Although he was not the best cover corner he was one who made plays. He gave up on average sixty percent of balls thrown at him while being targeted 377 times. Ryan did make plays when defending the pass but statistically he was a far superior run defender. He had his best year pass rushing, tackling, rushing the passer, and rush defense in 2015 and 2016. More of a slot corner during his time in New England; Ryan would switch to safety following his departure.
I would consider Ryan a bust just due to the fact his three best seasons as a pro happened in New England. He has had a solid career, but the fact remains he was his best when he was in Foxboro. Ryan spent three years in Tennessee, two in New York with the Giants, and now is listed as the third string safety for Tampa Bay.
Interestingly enough, it was Logan Ryan who intercepted Tom Brady in the Divisional round in 2020 to seal the victory for the Titans. Ultimately, that would be Brady’s last pass as a Patriot.
Short Term Deals
Darrel Revis and Brandon Browner both signed one year deals in 2014 and were a part of the Patriots Super Bowl run. Revis, who was a bonafide number one corner, led the New England defense with twelve pass break ups. He allowed four touchdowns on 85 targets which shockingly is the third most of his career.
That was Revis’ last great year as a pro and would be average to below average for the three remaining years he had. Browner was decent but was the number three corner on the team. He struggled in coverage, as he did for most of his short career, and was more of a run defender than a pass defender. At 6’3’ and 220 pounds he’s bigger than many of the safeties on the current Patriots team.
I cannot call them bust’s as they both contributed to a Super Bowl for the Patriots but they really were not the same players after they left the Patriots.