Pro Football Network lists just one Patriot in top 100 NFL players

There’s good news and bad news on the Pro Football Network (PFN) list of the NFL’s top 100 players. First, PFN included Christian Barmore, the sensational young Patriots' defensive tackle on the list. That's the good news.

The bad news is they’ve not included Matt Judon. Now, admittedly, Judon is coming off a serious injury. Regardless, he’s the best Patriots pass rusher since Andre Tippett, and that's saying something. In addition, when he's healthy, and presumably he is now, he's one of the best in the NFL. If anything should motivate Matt the Sack in 2024, it's this kind of slight.

Let’s look at Barmore, Judon, and why including only one Patriot is an issue. It points to a problem greater than any list or list-maker’s doing. It's a flagrant sign of a systemic problem in personnel management. Hopefully, with a new leader, Eliot Wolf, on board, that will be rectified in a hurry.

Christian Barmore is an All-Pro in the making

PFN listed Christian Barmore as the 94th-best NFL player. Here's what they had to say about the Pats’ star,

"Always a dependable interior presence, Christian Barmore broke out with a career year in 2023, setting new highs in sacks (8.5), tackles (64), tackles for loss (13), and QB hits (16).

He’s still ascending and could emerge as an even more dominant force in his fourth NFL season. The New England Patriots saw enough to hand Barmore a four-year, $84 million extension in April."

Ya think? A “dependable” presence? Please! Since he first stepped onto an NFL field, Barmore has been a disruptive force on the inside of the Patriots' defensive line. He’s unblockable by any one center or guard. Only his misuse by the Patriots coaching staff, by putting him in a gap rather than on the nose, has diminished his overall impact.

Barmore, a long-time favorite here, is destined for All-Pro status if he remains healthy and is played at his optimal position. Taking him off the nose for a run-stuffing player is a misuse of his ability to
crush any pocket, no matter who's in his path.

Anyone not named the now-retired Aaron Donald or Chris Jones of Kansas City can take a seat for Barmore. Only two things can keep him from being a Pro-Bowler or even an All-Pro in 2024. Those are his health and lousy coaching.

Additionally, Matt Judon is a Pro-Bowl-level player if he’s fit, or better, as well. There’s no doubt whatsoever about that. He should have been on the list of the top 100 players. Whomever he plays for in 2024 (hopefully the Patriots will trash any thoughts of trading their best player), if he's healthy, he’ll prove it.

There's one final point to make about that PFN list (and it's not their issue). The fact that only one Patriot appears on the list is an indictment of the lack of personnel acumen of the Patriots under Bill Belichick and company for the past half-dozen years or more. Eliot Wolf and others were part of that mess.

Too many second—and third-round picks flopped miserably under Belichick. The team is reaping the “rewards” of that inept personnel record now. Whatever you might think of him as a coach or general manager, Belichick was nothing more than average, at best.

Expect an uptick in the number of Patriots players selected in any top 100 players list next offseason. Barmore, Judon (if he’s still in town), Christian Gonzalez, Demario Douglas, and Keion White will all very possibly be there. If he plays, Drake Maye, the key to the team’s future, will also be on the list if the team can figure out how to use him properly.

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