FOXBOROUGH, Mass. _ Malcolm Butler remembers it like it was yesterday.
He was an undrafted free agent out of West Alabama when Darrelle Revis approached him in training camp. Butler was then a wide-eyed rookie trying to keep up with the laundry list of veteran defensive backs around him.
In 2014, the Patriots entered training camp with one of the deepest secondaries in team history. That offseason, the front office signed All-Pro corner Revis, Pro Bowl corner Brandon Browner and brought back safety Patrick Chung. They joined veteran safety Devin McCourty, veteran cornerback Kyle Arrington, third-year cornerback Alfonzo Dennard, third-year safety Tavon Wilson, second-year cornerback Logan Ryan and second-year safety Duron Harmon.
That group's accomplishments were outstanding _ three Pro Bowlers, two All-Pros, two first-round picks among them. The talent level fostered such an intense work environment that players were forced to step up each practice.
The end result was a victory in Super Bowl LI, in which the one player with the least experience somehow made the play of the game. Today, these players still carry the lessons of the 2014 season with them. That's why Butler still remembers the moment Revis told him he had what it took to make it.
"It helped me a lot," Butler said. "I can remember Darrelle Revis telling me that I got talent, but I just need to learn the game. I started learning the game instead of just going out there playing with my athletic ability. I started becoming a student of the game, so that helped me out a lot."
Five years later, the Patriots enter the 2019 season with another loaded secondary. Stories and lessons from that 2014 season still reverberate through Gillette Stadium.
