New England Patriots cornerback Stephon Gilmore is the 12th-best player in the NFL, according to Pro Football Focus.
Interestingly, Gilmore might have been higher on the list if not for his tough outing in Week 17 against Miami Dolphins receiver Devante Parker, who had eight catches for 137 yards in mostly 1-on-1 coverage from Gilmore. The performance against Parker may have been the only real blemish on Gilmore’s impeccable record and the NFL’s top cornerback in 2019. He had terrific games against Deandre Hopkins, Amari Cooper,
Gilmore finished the second-best defensive player on PFF’s list, behind Rams defensive lineman Aaron Donald, who was the No. 1 player on the list. Here’s what PFF said about Gilmore:
“The closest thing the NFL has in 2020 to a shutdown corner, Stephon Gilmore has taken his game to another level. Last season, Gilmore allowed a passer rating when targeted of just 47.4, notching 13 pass breakups and allowing fewer than 50% of targets to be caught — and that’s despite DeVante Parker ‘Mossing’ him at the catch point a couple of times to ruin his numbers. In single coverage over the past three seasons, Gilmore leads all defensive players and all cornerbacks by a significant distance in PFF grade and has allowed just 41.9% of passes to be caught.”
There is no shortage of quarterbacks ranked above Gilmore, with Drew Brees, Lamar Jackson, Russell Wilson and Patrick Mahomes. And there are a handful of elite receivers above Gilmore: Deandre Hopkins, Julio Jones and Michael Thomas. It’s probably a fair ranking, though you could certainly make the case Gilmore deserves to sit higher on the list.
