Stephon Gilmore’s star is shining brighter than ever.
ESPN NFL writer Mina Kimes on Thursday named the New England Patriots cornerback as the most impressive player in 2019 NFL season to date. Kimes cites the key role Gilmore plays in a “dominant” Patriots defense as the primary reason for picking him.
“While New England’s pass-catching corps has received a lot of attention this season, the secondary looks like the best unit in the NFL (admittedly against middling to weak competition),” Kimes writes. “Gilmore, who recorded a pick-six on Sunday, looks as dominant in coverage as he did last season and belongs in any conversation about the league’s best defensive players.”
Gilmore has has received widespread praise in recent months. He earned the highest ranking of any cornerback on the “NFL Top 100” list, and New York Jets coach Adam Gase describes him as the best in the league at his position.
However, Kimes brings the adulation for Gilmore to a higher level by dubbing him the “most impressive” performer in the NFL. Gilmore already has reached a high bar for performance in the first weeks of the 2019 NFL season. All he has to do is maintain that impressive standard.