Patriots 2020 player profile and outlook: CB Jason McCourty

Jason McCourty is set to begin his third season with the Patriots — and his second straight where he’ll open the season as the No. 2 cornerback.

It’s probably fair to say that Jason McCourty’s coming-out party as a member of the New England Patriots happened on the biggest stage of all.

With the Pats nursing the slimmest of leads in Super Bowl 53 — a three-point third-quarter advantage over the offensive juggernaut Los Angeles Rams — McCourty somehow managed to sprint across the end zone horizontally and break up a surefire touchdown reception by ex-Patriot Brandin Cooks.

New England head coach Bill Belichick rightfully called the play “huge” after the game … and it was.

Though his teammate Stephon Gilmore had the splashier play — a game-sealing interception off Rams QB Jared Goff that was also intended for Cooks — you could probably make an easy argument that McCourty’s play was just as important, if not more so (after all, it did happen in the end zone).

Either way, it served as a terrific catalyst for “JMac” as he began his second season with the Patriots in 2019 (his 11th season overall in the NFL).

After opening the 2018 season as the third option behind Gilmore and Eric Rowe, McCourty went into training camp last year as the clear-cut No. 2 behind Gilmore. Even before Rowe signed with the Dolphins in free agency, it was clear that McCourty had outplayed him during the 2018 season and deserved to be the No. 2 CB.

Now after two seasons in New England, McCourty’s play has been rock-solid if not spectacular. He’s no Gilmore — very few players in the league can even merit comparison — but he’s an exceptional second option. There are certainly teams around the NFL that would love to have McCourty as their No. 1 even.

The only knock on JMac at this point is the same knock that’s on his twin brother, safety Devin McCourty. Both veterans are 32 years old and will turn 33 before the 2020 season starts. Sooner or later, they’re both probably going to retire from the game.

Best-case scenario projection for 2020

While he’d certainly never say so in public, there has to be a part of Jason McCourty that’s a bit jealous of his twin brother.

Certainly, he’s happy for him. The two look and sound extremely close in all their interviews with the media, podcast recordings, etc.

But from a career accolades standpoint, there’s really no comparison between the two brothers.

Devin is a three-time Super Bowl champion, two-time Pro Bowler, and three-time Second-team All-Pro. Jason isn’t any of those things (he’s just a one-time Super Bowl champion), but in fairness to him, he also spent his entire career with the Tennessee Titans and Cleveland Browns before finally joining a winning in the Patriots.

JMac’s best-case scenario this season is having the kind of statistical explosion that finally merits him a Pro Bowl nod. It could happen — especially if opposing quarterbacks are loathe to throw toward Stephon Gilmore in 2020.

If that indeed happens and they choose to throw more towards McCourty — and McCourty is up to the challenge by breaking up a career number of passes and perhaps leading the team in picks and defensive touchdowns — then there’s a solid chance he could finally earn some individual league-wide recognition in terms of awards.

Worst-case scenario projection for 2020

Obviously, the worst-case scenario for any NFL player is injury — especially a serious, career-threatening one (or even a season-ending one).

Outside of that, the worst-case scenario for McCourty and the Patriots would unfold like this: other teams choose not to test Gilmore and throw only at McCourty — and McCourty is not up to the challenge.

JMac gives up bombs to the likes of Lamar Jackson, Patrick Mahomes, Deshaun Watson, etc., and by the end of the season (if not sooner), he’s benched in favor of New England’s other up-and-comers at CB (like J.C. Jackson, Jonathan Jones, and Joejuan Williams).

We don’t think that will happen though. While McCourty may not put up Gilmore-type numbers in 2020, he should once again function as one of the better No. 2 cornerbacks in the NFL this season — which could very well be his last in the league, depending on how things go.