When Stephon Gilmore signed with the Patriots in 2017, I remember saying how much I liked the move because he gives them that shutdown cornerback in the secondary. If you look back at previous Patriots teams, they’ve always had a number one corner who was ready to take on the opponents number one receiver. When New England won their first three Super Bowls in the early 2000s, Ty Law was a staple of those Patriots defenses. He’s now a Hall of Famer. In 2014, Darrelle Revis was signed by the team and his impact was felt immediately. Since then, it’s been all Gilmore. Last season was a rough one for him. He tested positive for COVID-19 and in week 15, he tore his quad. He had surgery on during the off-season. Today, the team announced that he will be placed on the PUP (physically unable to perform) list and will miss the first six weeks of the season.
When he’s healthy, he’s a top five corner in this league. In the game, you have many trash talkers and those guys that run their mouths every single chance they get. Steph is the complete opposite. He will shut you down and won’t say a word. That means he simply lets his play do all the talking. Many of his peers around the league refer to him as a silent assassin which I feel is accurate. Watching him for many years, you watch his ability to move left and right, he recovers well if he slips up while defending and he has top notch ball-skills. Steph also plays with discipline and it helps when you play in a great system ran by a defensive minded coach in Belichick. He always has his eyes on the quarterback. I like the patience he shows at the line of scrimmage. His technique is simple and he has great footwork which complements his skillset. He’s a very intelligent guy that studies receivers regularly. It’s all about how can he eliminate the route and make the receiver adjust on the fly. The one thing that goes under the radar with him is how physical he is at the line of scrimmage. His specialty is press coverage and he’s been one of the best pure cover corners for years.
It’s a big loss in the sense of presence because he has been their best defensive player the last few years. 2019 was the best year of his career. He was named Defensive Player of the Year and became the first cornerback to win the award since Charles Woodson in 2009. I don’t think this will affect the Patriots too much because they have another solid corner to depend on in J.C. Jackson who came into his own last year. The Patriots have always depended on the “Next Man Up” mentality and I don’t see why that would change now.
