The New England Patriots are headed back to the postseason once again, and while Tom Brady has been leading the charge, he’s certainly not doing it all alone.
ESPN on Wednesday published its weekly power rankings, and the theme of this particular week was each team’s “non-quarterback” MVP. After slotting the Pats in sixth in its overall rankings, ESPN tabbed Stephon Gilmore as New England’s non-QB MVP.
“Gilmore, and it’s a fairly easy choice,” wrote ESPN’s Mike Reiss. “The team’s only other Pro Bowler alongside Tom Brady, Gilmore has consistently provided lockdown coverage in a variety of challenging matchups, making the team’s five-year, $65 million investment in him as a free agent in 2017 look quite shrewd.”
Given Brady has taken a step back in his play, a legitimate case could be made that Gilmore is the Pats’ MVP, quarterbacks included or not. The secondary has become one of the Patriots’ best positional groups on the entire team and oftentimes has bailed out an otherwise average defense.
