3 defensive MVPs for the Patriots after three-quarters of the season

With three-quarters of the 2019 regular season now in the books, who have been the standouts for the New England Patriots on defense so far?

Unlike the New England Patriots offense, the New England Patriots defense has been chock-full of worthy candidates for team MVP honors pretty much all season long.

Previously in our lists we made at the quarter-mark and midway-point of the season, we included guys like Jamie Collins and Kyle Van Noy on these rankings. While Collins and Van Noy haven’t necessarily played poorer over the past four games (against the Ravens, Eagles, Cowboys, and Texans), they also haven’t quite maintained the blazing-hot starts they had to their season. Both players were particularly productive during the first four games of the year.

In their stead, however, other worthy Patriots players have ascended to glory. Without further ado, here’s a list of New England’s three defensive MVPs at the three-quarters mark of the season.

3. Lawrence Guy

Lawrence Guy is one of those NFL players you just can’t help but cheer for whenever good things happen for him.

An eight-year veteran who was a former seventh-round draft pick, Guy spent most of his professional career bouncing around from team to team before finally settling down with the Patriots in 2017. Since arriving in Foxborough and falling under Bill Belichick’s tutelage, Guy has blossomed into one of the better defensive tackles in the league today.

Criminally underrated, he’s had a bit of a coming-out-party in 2019 thanks to some splashy plays. In Week 8, he intercepted a pass from Baker Mayfield that hit him square in the chest; the following week, he recovered a Mark Ingram fumble that was forced by his teammate Kyle Van Noy.

Statistically-speaking, Guy is well on his way to having a career year. His 47 tackles are already the third-highest mark he’s ever had, and there are still four more games to play in the regular season. He needs 13 more tackles to set a career high for himself in that category.

After back-to-back subpar showings from a rush defense standpoint by the Patriots in Weeks 8 and 9 against the Browns and Ravens, respectively, the New England D has tightened up against opposing running backs and mobile quarterbacks considerably. A large part of the credit should go to Bill Belichick’s coaching – and to Bret Bielema’s coaching as well (he’s the defensive line coach).

But among players, no one has made a greater impact in holding down the line and stuffing the run than Lawrence Guy this season. He certainly deserves a place on this defensive MVP list for his efforts.

2. Devin McCourty

Devin McCourty had one heck of a start to his season. Considering the 32-year-old was openly contemplating retirement at Opening Night of Super Bowl 53, it’s amazing to think just how much he still has in the tank now in Year 10.

The longtime safety started off the year intercepting a pass in four straight games. The streak ended in Week 5, but he added a fifth interception to his running total against the Jets in Week 7. McCourty’s five picks are tied with Marcus Peters and Minkah Fitzpatrick for the most interceptions by a player in the NFL this season.

Will he have a chance to add to his total? It probably won’t happen this week against the Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes, who rarely makes costly mistakes with the football. But there’s at least a decent chance McCourty gets his sixth pick of the year when he faces a slew of turnover-prone quarterbacks over the final three games of the season: Andy Dalton, Josh Allen, and Ryan Fitzpatrick.

If McCourty can find a way to two additional picks before the regular season concludes, he’ll tie his career high of seven interceptions, a mark he set all the way back in 2010 during his rookie season when he was still playing cornerback. That might be a bit of a lofty goal and aspiration for a guy who now plays safety, but nothing is impossible with the way D-Mac has been balling out this year.

McCourty is also third on the Patriots in passes defensed behind Jonathan Jones and the guy who takes our No. 1 spot still to come (guess who). And if all this wasn’t enough, he also has both a forced fumble and a fumble recovery on the season as well.

It appears that McCourty – like Tom Brady – may have found the Fountain of Youth. Patriots fans assuredly want him to keep on drinking from that fountain, because it’s done him wonders as an anchor and defensive mainstay patrolling centerfield for Bill Belichick’s exemplary defense.

1. Stephon Gilmore

Without question, Stephon Gilmore has been the Patriots’ best player on defense this season.

We gave that honor to Jamie Collins after the first four games of the season and then switched it over to Devin McCourty at the midway point of the season. Both of those players have been great these past four games, too – Collins still leads all New England defenders in tackles, and McCourty still leads all New England defenders in interceptions.

McCourty is also the only player who’s made all three editions of this list of defensive MVPs in 2019. Gilmore has a very good chance to join him though in a “three-peat” when we do our final edition of this ranking, especially if he keeps up the elite level of play he’s been at for the bulk of this year – he was our No. 2 spot on the midseason version.

Gilmore is undoubtedly deserving of the top billing at this point though. Not only is he the best player on the Patriots defense, he’s also the best player on the Patriots roster right now in general. Moreover, he’s the best cornerback in the NFL and a leading candidate for Defensive Player of the Year honors.

Per ProFootballFocus, Gilmore has allowed the lowest passer rating in coverage among all eligible cornerbacks who have received at least 15 targets this season (43.0). That mark edges out the 49ers’ Richard Sherman (43.2) and Gilmore’s own teammate J.C. Jackson (44.7), and it far surpasses the passer rating mark of his counterpart on the AFC East rival Buffalo Bills, Tre’Davious White (52.0).

Bill Belichick has been able to reliably stick Gilmore on the opposing team’s best wide receiver week in and week out. It’s a rare luxury for a Patriots team that hasn’t had that kind of lockdown corner since Darrelle Revis came over from the Jets for one year back in 2014.