New England Patriots: Can Malcolm Butler Emerge As A Top Corner?

After losing Darrelle Revis and Brandon Browner via free agency this offseason, the New England Patriots’ secondary is in a transition phase. Gone is the best cornerback duo in the league, and in its place, we will likely see Super Bowl hero Malcolm Butler, third year corner Logan Ryan, and arguably the best slot corner in the game in Kyle Arrington.

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While a lot of people have been freaking out about the Patriots’ situation in the defensive backfield, I am actually pretty confident in the group. Yes, none of them are as talented as Revis and Browner, but they all bring specific talents to the table, and when you have the best free safety in the game backing them up, things will pan out just fine. The way I see it, the best way for Bill Belichick and Matt Patricia to utilize all of their players in the secondary to begin the season would be to put Butler and Ryan on the outside, and keep Arrington in the slot. Arrington is a terrific slot defender, but generally speaking, he is awful outside the numbers. A group of Ryan, Butler, and Arrington seems solid to me, particularly if Butler can make that second year jump with the Patriots.

Butler rose to fame with his unbelievable interception to win the Super Bowl, but for those that watched the Pats from August to February, you knew this kid had talent. He is tough, aggressive, has great ball skills, he is athletic enough to stay with most wideouts, and most importantly, he is willing to put in the work, and study to become a better player. As he said after the Super Bowl, because of his preparation, he knew that “stack” meant the Seahawks were going to try to run a pick play, he knew to jump it, and the rest is history. That play also illustrated his ability to correct mistakes, as he evidently got beat on that play in practice earlier in the week.

I love Butler’s game, and I think he is going to establish himself as a solid starting cornerback in 2015. Logan Ryan had a good rookie season, but he was pretty bad last year, so it will be up to Butler to lock down that number one spot. He has all the tools necessary to compete, he just has to stay consistent, and put it all together for one whole season.