The New England Patriots couldn’t ask for a better leader on offense, but their top defensive stalwart deserves his fair share of recognition, too.
Devin McCourty has been a rock for New England since the franchise drafted him in the first round in 2010. The veteran safety, who only has missed five games over nine NFL seasons, once again was solid throughout the 2018 season, which culminated with yet another Patriots Super Bowl title.
McCourty isn’t one to stuff the stat sheet, so his efforts on and off the field often go without proper praise. After going the first eight seasons of his career without cracking NFL Network’s “Top 100” list, the 31-year-old finally corraled a spot in the 2019 edition, coming in at No. 89. The honor certainly came as no surprise to Carolina Panther superstar Luke Kuechly, who couldn’t help but gush over what McCourty brings to the gridiron.
“When you look at teams that consistently win, there’s always pillars on each side of the ball,” Kuechly said. “If you got a guy in the secondary like McCourty that can speak to people from the back end, that can get guys lined up, that can put everything together — he knows their defense in and out. He can relay information to everyone else. You just see how easy stuff for them on defense is. Everyone is lined up where they need to be, they don’t blow coverages. A lot of that has to do not only with coaching, but a guy like Devin back there.”
McCourty has a lot to be excited about heading into his 10th season. Aside from the Patriots entering the campaign as reigning champions, McCourty will spearhead a New England secondary which is poised to be among the best in the league. With the likes of McCourty, Stephon Gilmore, Patrick Chung and rising star J.C. Jackson, opposing quarterbacks will have their work cut out for them each week.
The three-time Super Bowl champ wasn’t the only Patriot to hear his name called Tuesday on NFL Network either. Julian Edelman fell one spot behind McCourty on the “Top 100” list at No. 90.
