We are finally into the real NFL off-season. ‘No more pencils, no more books, no more teacher’s dirty looks.’ Or, in this case, iPads, film sessions and demanding coaches. At least for a few weeks. But before we get you prepped with positional resets, I wanted to present to you the 25 best Patriots over the last 25 years. There are a handful of players on the list I wouldn't put in my good-guy Hall of Fame, but that’s not the point. The point is simply to name the top 25 players who wore the uniform and performed at a high level while here. I didn’t take a poll, though I did give my list to a few of my media brethren to make sure I didn’t forget anyone. I didn’t. Who’s better than me? Don’t answer that…
Today, I’ll kick off the list with players 21-25. Argue with each other. Go down memory lane. And don’t go looking for a certain tight end. He won’t be found. Enjoy.
25. Joe Thuney: If this list spanned all stops, the 2016 third-round pick would be much higher. But this is Patriot-specific, and Thuney was here for just his first five seasons and piled up a ton of accolades post-NE.
Thuney made an All-Pro team (2nd team) once. That happened back in 2019. That prompted Bill Belichick to slap the franchise tag on the guard, but he never agreed to a long-term deal and walked away following the 2020 campaign for Jack diddly squat. Nice job, Bill. I digress…
Thuney never missed a start, was a high-level pass protector - he allowed just 3 sacks in his final three years combined - and played a critical role in the Pats offense neutralizing the damn near unstoppable Aaron Donald en route to winning Super Bowl LIII (and won another ring with NE in 2016-17 over Atlanta)
"Joe’s done a great job for us," Belichick said of Thuney in 2018. "He’s one of our best players, one of our most consistent players."
The Chiefs and now the Bears would concur.
Thuney was a very pleasant kid, but did not want to talk football with the media. He would literally smile at you, make small talk, and then offer one-sentence clichés. Normally, this would anger me. It didn’t with Joe. It's just who he is. I wish he had taken on a more Logan Mankins-like attitude with the media as he matured as a player, but alas…
I think he’s bound for Canton, Ohio. We’ll see if the voters get that one right.
24. Drake Maye: Two years in, and yeah, he belongs on the list. His second-year leap was as good as any, ever (yeah, I said that). Finished second in NFL MVP voting, and while I don’t begrudge anyone for putting Matthew Stafford ahead of him, they wouldn’t have been wrong had they flipped the order.
Maye set the single-season franchise record for games with a QB Rating of 100 or higher with 13. Tom Brady had 12 in the 2010 season (he won MVP that year). His 72% completion rate was higher than Brady's best (68.9%). He also set a single-game mark by completing 21-of-23 vs. the Titans (91.3%). His performance led the bottom-of-the-basement Pats from 4-13 to 14-3. It was remarkable, right up until the playoff struggles. And even then, Maye made enough plays to get the team to the Super Bowl.
Now, what to do for an encore? I’ll tell you this: if Maye isn’t near the top of the list when his career is all said and done, I’d be surprised. They (Pats) would be, too.
23. James White: I went back and forth between White and