We’re down to the final three in the 25 best Patriots over the last 25 years. This selection was, for me, ultimately, the perfect place for one of the best players I’ve ever seen. A behemoth with hands the size of pie plates and a laugh that bounced off locker room walls.
3. Richard Seymour: For three seasons in the early 2000s, there was no better all-around defensive lineman in football than Seymour. Opposing offensive coordinators had to game-plan around him, and that was with the massive Seymour not being given the green light to be the penetrating force he would later be once he switched coasts. But he was coveted by the Patriots for his physical dominance, football IQ, and versatility - Seymour could just as easily play on the nose or control one side of the line as a 3-4 end.
"Richard was a tremendous player, tremendous skill set, great length, explosive, very quick for his size, was really — he could do everything," Bill Belichick said. "He started his career here on the nose [tackle], which was not really his best position, but he could play it for sure. ... Long, athletic, very powerful. He was a tough matchup for the interior linemen: He could win with speed against some of the quicker guys, and against some of the quicker guys he could win with power."
Seymour never had more than 8 sacks in a single season with the Pats (he did that twice) and yet was a four-time All-Pro, being honored in 2003, ‘04, ‘05 and ‘06 (second-teamer that year).
“It means you are the best at your position in the whole league,” Seymour said of All-Pro honors. “I want there to be no question about that. That’s my goal. Every year, just write me in as one of the top two.”
Seymour's overall stats (57.5 career sacks) weren’t overwhelming - perhaps they could have been in another system. But he was as proficient against the run as he was against the pass.
“I have spent over 25 years in the NFL as a scout and executive -- primarily in pro personnel, evaluating every guy in the league - and Seymour was one of the best players I saw during my time scouting,” Scott Pioli wrote on NFL.com as he campaigned for Seymour’s induction into the Hall of Fame. “He was dominant at times, but most of the time, he had to play within Bill Belichick's system. He played selfless football that did not afford him the opportunity to stockpile personal statistics. Instead, he willingly played within the scheme and helped New England win championships.”
"When you go through personnel evaluations for drafts, a lot of times you might say 'this guy is sort of like that guy.' Or 'that guy is sort of like this guy.' There's nobody like Richard Seymour,” Belichick wrote to the Hall of Fame committee. “They just don't come along. They are a generational-type player - athletically and talent-wise, and then the bigger part is what Richard brought to this organization as a person."
Not bad for a highly debated - and rare - top-10 pick for Belichick’s Patriots. If you recall, there was a University of Michigan receiver named David Terrell that a portion of the fan base - and media - wanted instead. Seymour was the Pats’ choice at #6. Terrell went two spots later to the Bears.
This appeared in the Boston Globe following the 2001 NFL Draft:
“On a day when they could have had impact players David Terrell or Koren Robinson... they took Georgia defensive tackle Richard Seymour, who had 1 sack last season in the pass-happy SEC and is too tall to play tackle at 6-6 and too slow to play defensive end.”
Seymour went on to that Hall of Fame career (2022 Gold Jacket class). Terrell and fellow wideout Robinson did jack diddly squat. That said, there aren’t too many “memorable” moments, for reasons already discussed. There was that 3-and-1 stop in the fourth quarter of the 2001 “Snow Bowl” game against the Raiders that kept the Pats in the game. Maybe you recall the pass deflection in the 2004 AFC title game versus Peyton Manning and the Colts, or the blocked field goal that led to a rare win in Miami. But mostly, Seymour was a bad ass on the defensive line, and helped that defense dictate terms most weeks.
“There’s a difference between stats and impact,” Seymour said years after his playing career was over. “Having your impact on the game and imprint against offensive linemen having to play against you . . . I think I’ve earned the respect of a lot of offensive linemen over the years.”
"We could put Richard anywhere and be successful with it,” Tedy Bruschi said. “When you have that type of talent and domination from that position, that's how you win championships."
That’s the type of player who should finish where he started. But Belichick traded Seymour to the Raiders just before the start of the 2009 season, receiving a 2011 first-round pick in return. That was an offseason that saw both Bruschi and Rodney Harrison retire, and Mike Vrabel got shipped to KC (with Matt Cassel). Yet the Pats privately insisted they weren’t sure they could afford to pay Seymour, moving the 29-year-old for what would turn out to be Nate Solder. Seymour was so gobsmacked by the trade that he initially refused to report to the Silver and Black.
"I've really been blindsided by the events that took place,” Seymour told the Boston Herald a few days after the trade. “I didn't expect it. I didn't understand what was going on. So it's like when something happens, when you're blindsided, you have to step back and realize what situation you're in."
Pats’ players felt the same way - I remember the locker room that week was quiet and a little agitated - but precious few spoke out on it publicly because there were always consequences with Belichick.
"They have an agenda upstairs, and the coaches decide who comes and goes,” Kevin Faulk said. “You can't do nothing about it."
Seymour went on to play four years with the Raiders, but was unable to lift that outfit. He retired after the 2012-13 season and ended up in Canton a decade later. He’s also a minority owner of the Raiders, and an accomplished poker player. But we’ll all remember him as an incredible talent who was part of three title-winning teams during his first four seasons in the league. What did he do well? “Everything,” said Belichick.