Patriots 2015 Free Agent Profile – Devin McCourty, "This is home"
 Devin McCourty became one of only three players to earn All-Pro honors at both safety and cornerback, joining Rod Woodson and Ronnie Lott. (USA TODAY Images) |
Devin McCourty is one of two key members of the Patriots secondary that are the targets for the team renegotiate a new deal for 2015 and beyond.
While Darrelle Revis remains the focal point, McCourty’s return is also extremely important for a New England defense that made huge strides in 2014 that culminated with a Super Bowl win over the Seattle Seahawks.
McCourty was drafted as cornerback and taken in the 1st round (27th overall) in the 2010 NFL Draft from the Patriots pipeline at Rutgers. The 5’10, 195 pound McCourty was a Pro-Bowl and 2nd team All-Pro selection in his rookie season.
After the acquisition of Aqib Talib in 2012, McCourty moved to safety and garnered another Pro-Bowl bid in 2014. He’s versatile, being able to play safety, corner or special teams, returning a kickoff for a touchdown against the Jets in 2012. With an All-Pro selection at safety this season, he joins Ronnie Lott and Rod Woodson as the only players to garner All-Pro nods at both safety and corner.
In 2014, he’s moved to more of a center fielder role and has flourished. With the cornerback position now flush with Revis, Brandon Browner, Kyle Arrington, Logan Ryan, Malcolm Butler and Alfonzo Dennard, McCourty’s role has now transformed into one of a playmaker and Pat Chung who was brought back this past season has provided an in-the-box strong safety role.
The result was a Patriots defense that had a defensive quarterback rating of 84.0 and a passer rater differential of 13.6, good for fifth in the league. McCourty had 68 tackles, a forced fumble and two interceptions on the season.
Now one of the most established veterans on the Patriots defense with five seasons under his belt, McCourty has been a much more vocal leader and the unquestioned quarterback for the secondary.
While the Seattle Seahawks get and rightfully so the majority of the credit for having the best secondary in the NFL with the “Legion of Boom”, McCourty has been instrumental and with very little fanfare and zero ostentation in giving the Patriots one of the best secondaries in the league, and easily the best that Bill Belichick has enjoyed in the last decade.
Why McCourty Will Return: Don’t fix what isn’t broke…. McCourty is the quarterback of a secondary that is battle-tested and a Super Bowl champion in 2014. He’s been durable, missing only three games in five years and has been a model teammate and locker room presence.
Revis’ words are particularly telling in evaluating the worth of McCourty saying, "He's outstanding," Revis said. "He was outstanding before I got here and he has just continued on. I feel like he's the best free safety in the league."
"He's got great range back there, he's very fast, but the thing I appreciate him most for is how he studies the game and how he knows the game so well. He works so hard at it. It's awesome to see how he wants feedback from other guys."
While he remains a kind of an under-the-radar type of safety, he’s been a very steady influence in the Patriots secondary allowing only 16 completions on the season. According to Pro-Football Focus, he’s quietly had a Top 10 season in both run and pass defense for safeties in 2014.
While the Patriots would want to lock him up for the long term in 2015 and beyond, the franchise tag remains an option and would give the team and McCourty to come to a longer solution. McCourty has made it clear that he’d like to remain a member of the Patriots, and the secondary after Revis, has its best player in McCourty.
The franchise tag for safeties is around $9 million per season and McCourty would be one of two possible candidates for that in Foxboro. Another potential franchise designation candidate is kicker Stephen Gostkowski who we profiled earlier this week.
Why McCourty Won’t Return: If the Patriots can’t come to a long term agreement or use the franchise tag on McCourty, expect him to be courted by a number of teams. With the Colts not having a starting safety on the roster right now and many teams having a big need for safety help including the Giants, Broncos, Ravens, Jaguars and others, McCourty will get much more money if he hits the open market.
The only way that would happen is if the Patriots drop the ball and allow McCourty to test the open market. And it would be a colossal mistake on the part of New England.
The best part of the defense of New England is the secondary….when was the last time anyone heard that? And McCourty and Revis are their two best players. With an inconsistent pass rush in 2014, the Patriots won by providing blanket coverage on opponent’s top wide receivers.
Of all their free agents, and in the case of Revis, one who is not…, they can’t afford to lose either Revis or McCourty and Belichick knows this. McCourty will return in 2015.
Tom E. Curran from Comcast Sports New England asked McCourty if the Super Bowl win over Seattle would be his last as a member of the Patriots. McCourty’s answer had to be music to the ears of Patriots fans.
"I hope not. We'll see, but I hope not. This ride has been incredible -- being in the Super Bowl twice and winning it once -- there's not much a player can ask for except for being at home," McCourty said. "And this is home."
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