The New England Patriots have no shortage of unheralded contributors. During the 2020 offseason, we saw some of those underrated standouts move on to different teams, where they got some overdue credit (in the form of major contracts).
Jamie Collins, Kyle Van Noy and Danny Shelton were among those who spun their hard work in New England into a big opportunity with another organization. But there are plenty of leftover contributors who are not getting the love they deserve. These starters or standouts are major contributors, even if they don’t get attention from media members or fans.
Here’s a look at six Patriots whose talents have gone underrated in recent years.
Lawrence Guy, DT
He’s a stud, and Bill Belichick takes every opportunity he can get to make sure everyone knows how much the coach appreciates the defensive tackle. Guy is a versatile lineman who played a number of positions on New England’s defensive front in 2019 but is primarily a space-eating interior player. He finished 2019 with 61 tackles, five for a loss, five quarterback hits, three sacks and an interception in 16 games. That tackle sum had him tied for the third-highest total among Patriots defenders, which is no small accomplishment for a defensive tackle.
Adam Butler, DT
He played behind Guy and Shelton in 2019 in terms of snaps, but Butler was proficient and earned a role above Michael Bennett, which ultimately led to his departure from the team. Butler has been steadily improving over his first few years in the NFL, and if he continues on this trajectory, he could be a special role-playing interior rusher and maybe even a full-time starter.
Jonathan Jones, CB
The cornerback earned recognition from NFL.com as the most under-appreciated player on the Patriots. NFL.com’s Cynthia Frelund wrote: “Passes thrown to middle-of-the-field targets (between the numbers) while Jones was in coverage resulted in incompletions at the fifth-highest rate among corners in the NFL last season, per my computer vision.”
Jones serves primarily as the team’s slot defender, a position growing in value over the last few years when slot receivers have gotten paid big sums.
J.C. Jackson, CB
While Jones owns the middle of the field, Jackson has been key in helping the Patriots own the perimeters and the deep areas of the field. He is a favorite of Pro Football Focus, the digital scouting service. They wrote the following: “Since 2018, he has been targeted 29 times 20 or more yards downfield — on those plays, he has allowed just three receptions compared to six interceptions and 10 forced incompletions.”
David Andrews, C
He missed all of the 2019 season with blood clots in his lungs, and New England’s offensive line seemed to suffer because of his absence. Running back Sony Michel may have seen the biggest slump from 2018 (with Andrews) to 2019 (without him). Michel ran for 4.5 yards per carry in 2018 and 3.7 yards per carry last season. It just seemed the line couldn’t get the same push at the line of scrimmage when Ted Karras took over for Andrews.
