New England Patriots: Brady ranked third-best player in PFF Top 50

Pro Football Focus released its list of Top 50 players in the NFL, and the No. 1 player on the list will likely surprise many because it’s not Tom Brady.

On Monday, Tom Brady was named the best player in the NFL according to his peers on the NFL Network’s Top 100 list. But analytics experts Pro Football Focus released its Top 50 rankings again Wednesday via Twitter, and they have a different take on the No. 1 player in the league.

As you can see, four members of the New England Patriots made the PFF Top 50 overall. New England safety Devin McCourty just made the list at No. 49 while cornerback Malcolm Butler (No. 38) and tight end Rob Gronkowski (No. 9) are ranked higher. McCourty and Butler anchor arguably the NFL’s top secondary for the Patriots. New addition Stephon Gilmore hopes to make them even better while teaming with Butler at cornerback. For what it’s worth, PFF has two cornerback duos ranked ahead of them for the Denver Broncos and Minnesota Vikings.

Getting back to Brady though, New England fans should not be too upset by these rankings. He is still the top quarterback, with Aaron Rodgers of the Green Bay Packers coming in at No. 5 overall. Rodgers is the only other signal-caller ranked among the best 18 players by PFF. Reigning NFL MVP Matt Ryan of the Atlanta Falcons is next in line at No. 19.

Next: Can the Patriots Run the Table in 2017?

PFF projects the Patriots to have the AFC’s best record in 2017, and their offensive line ranks 19th in the NFL.  I will also be breaking down the offensive line rankings in more detail later in the week, so stay tuned to MusketFire.com for further analysis.