Stephon Gilmore Makes Top Half of PFF's Top 101 Players of 2019

Earlier this week, PFF released the bottom half of their list of the top 101 players of the 2019 season, which included three players from the New England Patriots: Joe Thuney, Devin McCourty, and Kyle Van Noy. On Thursday, they released the top half of their list, which had one Patriot on it: Stephon Gilmore.

Here is what PFF had to say about the NFL's Defensive Player of the Year, who landed at no. 22 on the list:

"For the majority of the season, Patriots cornerback Stephon Gilmore was a true shutdown cornerback for their defense. He won the AP's Defensive Player of the Year, and while PFF went in a different direction for that award, there is little doubt he had an excellent season. Gilmore allowed a passer rating of just 48.0 when targeted and a completion percentage under 50%. The only real negative on his season was struggling to contain DeVante Parker against Miami in Week 17, where he gave up the only 100-yard receiving performance of his season."

Despite lining up against receivers like DeAndre Hopkins, Tyreek Hill, Amari Cooper, JuJu Smith-Schuster, and Odell Beckham Jr., Gilmore was able to be the first cornerback since 2009 to earn the DPOY award. His ability to shut down the opposing offenses no. 1 receiver was a large part of the reason why New England had a historic season defensively.

Richard Sherman (13) was the only cornerback listed in front of Gilmore on PFF's list.