Pro Football Focus recently released its All-Star team from the last quarter century, and to no surprise, the six-time Super Bowl-winning New England Patriots featured frequently. In all, the team had four offensive players and a lockdown corner, a figure only the Baltimore Ravens (4) come close to.
Even more impressively, the team drafted three of its five players, showing that the criticism Bill Belichick and company receive for their drafting may be overstated. There's no doubt it's an impressive list, but what exactly did each player do to earn such a high honor in PFF's eyes?
PFF honors legendary Patriots by selecting five former players to their All-2000s Team
Quarterback | Tom Brady
Unsurprisingly, the greatest quarterback and player to ever grace the football field makes the team. Atop his seven Super Bowl rings and countless records, TB12 comes in at an incredible 98.6 career PFF grade, the highest ever for a career. With his NFL record of over 89,000 passing yards, one might think he'd be bound for a large batch of interceptions, but that wasn't the case either -- on over 12,000 graded dropbacks, he managed a turnover-worthy play rate of just 2%, or one in every 50 dropbacks.
His 2007, 2016, and 2017 seasons were especially noteworthy by PFF's standards, as all three rank in the top six in PFF passing grades across a single season (all north of 93.0). It's not surprising that the GOAT makes the squad, but it's always fun to reminisce and see just how dominant he was during his heyday.
Tight End | Rob Gronkowski
Rob Gronkowski's status as the greatest tight end of all time may be debated by non-Patriot fans, but his spot on the tight end Mount Rushmore isn't in question. During his time in New England, Gronk was a force, racking up regular season stats, including 79 touchdowns from 521 catches.
After his initial retirement and trade to Tampa Bay to play with TB12, he managed another 100 catches during his two seasons for 13 more touchdowns and broke the 9,000-yard mark. His postseason stats tag a ridiculous 98 catches onto those totals, as well as nearly 1,400 more yards and 15 touchdowns.
PFF-wise, Gronk holds the record for most seasons with a 90.0+ PFF grade, beating out Julio Jones with six across his eleven-season career.
Wide Receiver | Antonio Brown
As short-lived as his tenure with the Patriots was, Antonio Brown's greatness cannot be understated. From 2013 to 2018, he didn't dip under the 1,284 receiving yards mark. In 2014, he had a ridiculous tally of nearly 1,700 yards, but the following year, he bested himself still, becoming one of the four players to crack 1,800 yards in a single season.
That season now ranks him fifth in the all-time list of most yards in a season and one of six players to ever do so, with Cooper Kupp (2021) and Justin Jefferson (2022) being added to the prestigious list. AB additionally ranks in the top five in both yards per route run and yards after catch since 2006, impressive additions to his ridiculous stats.
During his single game with the Patriots, his four catches for 56 yards and a touchdown were highlights in a 43-0 drubbing of the Brian Flores-coached Dolphins. Off-the-field issues kept Brown out of the league except for that game during the 2019 season, but in another world, the Brady to Brown connection was happening for years, this time in Patriots uniforms.
Left Guard | Logan Mankins
Mankins is the final of the trio of players on the roster that the Patriots drafted themselves, and like both Brady and Gronk, he spent the latter part of his career playing with the Buccaneers. During his eleven-season playing career, Mankins showed incredible prowess as a run blocker, specifically posting a 95.4 run block grade during the prime of his career from 2007-2010, a period in which he was the highest graded offensive lineman in that category, and the second highest graded lineman in the league.
No left guard has performed better according to PFF's metrics since their inception in 2006. The only sad element of the seven-time Pro Bowler's resume is his lack of a Super Bowl: he departed to Florida in a trade just a season before New England returned to the promised land and won after a decade-long drought.
Cornerback | Darrelle Revis
The final Patriot to make the list only featured for a season, with his short tenure bracketed by his time with their sworn rivals to the south. Long-time Jet Darrelle Revis's career was strongest in the late 2000s into the early 2010s, including his sole 2014 season in New England, where he was named a First Team All-Pro.
Since PFF's inception in 2006, Revis has ranked second in the completion percentage allowed, only behind Richard Sherman. Revis's one season in New England led to a Super Bowl, as he headlined a room with Brandon Browner, Logan Ryan, and unlikely hero Malcolm Butler.
There's no doubt the Patriots have had a phenomenal past twenty-five years; six Super Bowls, nine appearances, and the greatest coach and quarterback to ever star in their roles. Having three draft picks and five players named to a team recognizing the greatness of players from the last quarter decade proves just how well run the organization is and is a testament to the hard work put in by everyone involved with the roster creation.
With Drake Maye, Christian Gonzalez, and company coming through the ranks now, here's to hoping they'll have another five players on PFF's 2050 squad.