At long last, a player drafted and developed by Bill Belichick is headed for Canton.

In his fourth year on the ballot, Richard Seymour, the sixth overall pick in the 2001 NFL Draft, finally made the cut for the Pro Football Hall of Fame following a 12-year NFL career, which included three Super Bowl titles with the New England Patriots.

Seymour spent the first eight seasons of his career with the Patriots before he was traded to the Oakland Raiders, where he spent the final four. In all, Seymour was a seven-time Pro Bowler -- five times with New England -- and three-time First-Team All-Pro, all in Foxboro.

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He's the second player to win a championship with the Patriots in the Hall of Fame, following Ty Law, who was originally drafted during the Bill Parcells era in 1995.

Surely, Seymour won't be the last player drafted by Belichick to make it to Canton -- but aside from the obvious candidates who've most recently played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who else has a chance to make it to the Hall of Fame after playing for the Patriots in the 21st century?

Below are some candidates not yet enshrined in Canton -- not all of whom were actually drafted by New England -- but who made their most significant contributions with the Patriots rather than elsewhere over the last two decades.

Locks

 

Tom Brady

Rather than spell out the case for the seven-time Super Bowl champion, let's have some fun. Which of these three iterations of Brady would be most deserving of enshrinement?

Brady 1.0 (2001-2008): From the time he stepped in for Drew Bledsoe through his collision with Bernard Pollard, Brady had a 3-1 Super Bowl record, 2 Super Bowl MVPs, 1 regular season MVP. 

Brady 2.0 (2009-2015): From the time he returned from a torn ACL through his Deflategate suspension, Brady had a 1-1 Super Bowl record, 1 Super Bowl MVP and 1 regular season MVP.

Brady 3.0 (2016-2021): From the time he returned from more probably than not being generally aware of a ball deflation scheme to his retirement, Brady had a 3-1 Super Bowl record, 2 Super Bowl MVPs and 1 regular season MVP -- with two different teams, no less.

Rob Gronkowski

The player with the most First-Team All-Pro nods for the Patriots this millennium ultimately left for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but it wasn't Tom Brady. Gronk has the edge there, with four First-Team All-Pro nods to Brady's three.

Adam Vinatieri

There are only two players who were exclusively kickers in the Hall of Fame (Morten Andersen, Jan Stenerud), both of whom were excellent, neither of whom matched the postseason heroics of Vinatieri, who retired as the league's all-time leading scorer (supplanting Andersen) with 2,673 points. Vinatieri will be the first U.S.-born kicker in the Hall (Andersen is from Denmark, Stenerud is from Norway).

Compelling Cases

 

Vince Wilfork

In his first year of eligibility, Wilfork was a semifinalist, which is a good sign moving forward.

Statistics seldom jump off the page for interior linemen like Wilfork -- though he was versatile enough to line up across the defensive front when needed -- but five Pro Bowl appearances is a good place to start. He was First-Team All-Pro only once but Second-Team All-Pro three times and part of two Super Bowl winners in both his first and last season with the Patriots.

Bill Belichick said in the fall that Wilfork was "impossible to block in the running game."

Rodney Harrison

Football doesn't seem to be a game in which counting numbers matter as much as baseball when it comes to Hall of Fame induction, but it's hard to ignore that Harrison is one of just two players -- and the only defensive back -- with both 30 interceptions and 30 sacks in his career, along with Hall of Fame linebacker Ray Lewis.

Harrison, who spent the first nine years of his career with the San Diego Chargers before finishing with six in New England, made only two Pro Bowls and was named First-Team All-Pro twice. He won Super Bowls in each of his first two seasons with the Patriots.

After being a semifinalist in 2021, Harrison didn't make the cut again for this year's class. Like Wilfork, one thing he definitely has going for him, however, is the endorsement of Belichick.

"I’ve coached some of the other safeties that have been enshrined in the Hall of Fame, and not taking anything away from them, but certainly Rodney Harrison belongs in that conversation, and he belongs in the conversation with other players that are already there,” Belichick said in November.

For good measure, Harrison's seven postseason interceptions are tied for sixth all-time.

Matthew Slater

Any time the only person you're trailing in a major statistical accomplishment is Tom Brady warrants mentioning. For Slater, the only player with more Pro Bowl appearances than his 10 for New England is Brady, with 14.

No core special teamer has made the Hall of Fame -- only two kickers and one punter are in, even -- but if anyone can shatter the mold, it feels like Slater, backed up by three Super Bowl wins, can do it. He has Steve Tasker -- a nine-time Hall of Fame semifinalist himself, with seven Pro Bowl appearances -- in his corner for eventual induction, it appears.

Longer Shots

 

Julian Edelman

If this were strictly a postseason Hall of Fame, Edelman is in on the first ballot. In addition to winning Super Bowl LIII MVP, Edelman is second all-time in both receptions (118) and receiving yards (1,442) behind a guy called Jerry Rice.

That postseason resume should absolutely keep Edelman in the discussion, but he never earned First-Team All-Pro honors and -- wrongfully -- was never elected to a Pro Bowl, with two 100-catch seasons and three 1,000-yard campaigns.

Wes Welker

Dropping a potentially game-sealing pass in Super Bowl XLVI against the Giants is unfortunately how many people remember Welker, who was a five-time Pro Bowler and twice First-Team All-Pro with New England. He led the league in receptions three times and averaged 112 per season over six years in Foxboro. But he's only 23rd all-time in receptions overall (903) and didn't win any titles with the Patriots -- or Denver Broncos, leaving one season before they captured Super Bowl 50.

Devin McCourty

There's no steadier defensive player from the second half of New England's dynastic run than McCourty, the team's first draft pick as part of its 2010 roster reset. But he's played in only two Pro Bowls and only one since switching from cornerback to safety after his impressive rookie season. 

Stephon Gilmore

The book may not be completely closed on Gilmore elevating his case further. It's already not bad, with five Pro Bowl appearances, two First-Team All-Pro nods and the 2019 Defensive Player of the Year award. Should it matter he only has 27 career interceptions over 10 seasons, in an age where quarterbacks have become more aware to avoid throwing towards No. 1 cornerbacks? Darrelle Revis retired with only 29 career picks and certainly no one will be quibbling with his eventual candidacy.

Stephen Gostkowski

Vinatieri's replacement was actually more accurate than his predecessor -- Gostkowski made 86.3 percent of his field goals, compared with 83.8 for Vinatieri -- but despite winning three Super Bowls and playing in three more, there are no signature moments that immediately come to mind for Gostkowski. He missed an extra point in both the 2015 AFC Championship Game and Super Bowl LI, followed by a missed field goal in Super Bowl LII and LIII. 

Logan Mankins

The last pick in the first round of the 2005 NFL Draft, Mankins was nothing short of excellent for the Patriots, making six Pro Bowls and being named First Team All-Pro once (curiously, in his nine-game holdout-shortened season in 2010) before being unceremoniously shipped to Tampa Bay just prior to the team winning Super Bowl XLIX.

Mankins made one additional Pro Bowl with the Bucs, giving him seven for his career, which is great. But among offensive linemen, he's not even in the top 20 for most Pro Bowl nods. Mankins was Second-Team All-Pro five times, which helps a little, but not being a member of any championship teams -- though no fault of his own -- won't tip the scales in his favor, either.