6 Patriots Make CBS Sports' Top 100 Best Free Agents
One of the best ways to gauge how a player will fare during free agency is by ranking them against their peers in the free-agent pool. For the New England Patriots, doing that tells you how great some of their free-agent players are, and why it will be hard for the Patriots to retain them once they start fielding offers from other teams. CBS Sports is the latest outlet to highlight these struggles for New England this offseason.
Pete Brisco released his Top 100 Best Free Agents for 2020 on Wednesday, which has six Patriots players on it, the highest one being 42-year-old quarterback Tom Brady.
Here are each of New England's players listed on Brisco's list, which includes their spot in the rankings and his comments on that player.
4. Tom Brady (QB) - "Where will he go? Who will pay him? Will the Patriots bring him back? I think they do, but he will have options. He needs more help than what the Patriots gave him last year."
22. Joe Thuney (OG) - "Teams looking for a quality guard who is well schooled in the fundamentals should look at Thuney. He was the Pats best lineman last season."
39. Kyle Van Noy (LB) - "After coming over in a trade from the Lions, this former first-round pick played a big part in the success of the Patriots defense. He can play off the ball, but he can also rush the passer when needed."
45. Devin McCourty (S) - "It's hard to believe, but he is 32 and is entering his 11th season. Even so, he's still a good safety and knows what it takes to help lead a secondary. There's value in that."
49. Jamie Collins (LB) - "He gets traded to Cleveland from the Pats and struggled, but came back last season on a one-year deal and looked like the playmaker from his early days with the Pats. He is a run-and-chase linebacker, who flashed as a pass rusher last season."
91. Danny Shelton (DT) - "If teams wants a wide-body, one-dimensional run player, Shelton is their guy. He was good in that role for the Patriots last season, but he offers little in terms of pass rush."
This biggest surprise on this list has to be Devin McCourty. As PFF's 8th-best safety last season, it's hard to imagine there are 44 players better than McCourty, even at 32 years old, in free agency this offseason. Listed in front of him from other positions were WR Breshad Perriman at no. 42 (PFF's 42nd ranked receiver in 2019) and offensive tackle Andrew Whitworth, who is ranked no. 44 at 38 years of age (also ranked as PFF's 28th-best tackle in 2019). While "age, potential, and other factors" are used to determine a player's ranking, coming off of his best since 2016 should weigh heavy enough for McCourty to crack the top 30.
Those fond of Brady may want to note that being no. 4 on CBS Sports' list makes him the 3rd-highest QB in their rankings. Ranked no. 3 is Drew Brees and no. 1 is Dak Prescott.
Some notable Patriots players that did not crack the top 100 are special teams standout Matthew Slater, center Ted Karras, defensive tackle Adam Butler, and linebacker Elandon Roberts.
