Every year, Pro Football Focus releases its rankings of the top 101 players from that given season. The Patriots have six players in this year's 100, with Tom Brady and Stephon Gilmore as their highest-ranked players.
The Top 101 players are graded solely on their play in 2018, while all positions are treated equally. Gilmore, a first-team All-Pro corner this year came in at ninth, while Brady was seventh.
The excerpt on Brady:
Brady finished the 2018 season with his sixth Super Bowl title and his fourth consecutive elite grade, making him the only quarterback in the NFL to record grades of 90.0 or more in each season since 2015. Tom Brady was as clinical as usual from a clean pocket throughout the 2018 campaign, and he ended the year with his fifth straight clean-pocket passer rating north of 100.0.
Brady finished the season with 4355 passing yards, 29 touchdowns, 11 interceptions and an 11-5 record; his worst record since 2009 when he went 10-6.
The breakdown on Gilmore ranking ninth:
It was a career year for Gilmore, whom Bill Belichick has taken to employing as a weapon in the secondary. New England shadowed receivers more than any other team in the NFL this season, and it was often Gilmore’s job to take away the other team’s top receiving threat. He tracked receivers in 13 games this year yet still only allowed 42 catches on 90 targets for 466 yards all year.
New England Patriots
Other Patriots making the Top 101 include Trey Flowers (21), Shaq Mason (52), Lawrence Guy (83) and Devin McCourty (93).
Was anyone left off? Are Brady and Gilmore not high enough?
Either way, it doesn't really matter to them after another Super Bowl win.
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