The New England Patriots’ defense has been the benchmark of the NFL thus far this season.
And while there are playmakers all over the field for the Pats, the stats in the secondary are particularly eye-popping. New England has not allowed a passing touchdown through five games and has 11 interceptions.
Stephon Gilmore widely has been referred to as one of, if not the best cornerback in the league, but there’s another member of the Patriots’ secondary that is the highest graded CB in the NFL according to Pro Football Focus — Jason McCourty.
Jason McCourty is @pff's highest graded CB this season. He was a free agent in the 2017 offseason and signed a two-year, $6M contract with $2M guaranteed with the Browns. He was available for a trade in the 2018 offseason and the Patriots got him and 7th round pick for a 6th.
— Dan Duggan (@DDuggan21) October 9, 2019
Teams have completed just 13 passes (10.8 yards per completion) on 29 passes thrown in McCourty’s direction. The 32-year-old has 24 total tackles with four pass deflections and an interception. That has earned him an 88.4/100 rating from the analysts at PFF.
He wasn’t the only Patriot to end up in the top five, either:
1. Jason McCourty, NE
2. K’Waun Williams, SF
3. Quinton Dunbar, WSH
4. Jonathan Jones, NE
5. Brian Poole, NJ
Jones and McCourty both figure to keep grades pretty high this week as the Patriots welcome the New York Giants on Thursday night for a primetime matchup.
