Stephon Gilmore looks to build off NFL Defensive Player of the Year season
There’s the pressure of being a professional athlete and providing for your family. Then there’s the pressure of staring at a wide receiver who’s trying to sprint past you while you backpedal to try to keep up. There’s also the pressure of building off a season in which you were named the NFL Defensive Player of the Year.
Simply put, Stephon Gilmore has a lot of pressure heading into the 2020 NFL season.
After an offseason in which the Patriots lost Tom Brady, Dont’a Hightower, Patrick Chung, Kyle Van Noy and Jamie Collins, Gilmore enters this year as the clear-cut best player on the team. After leading the Patriots defense a year ago, it’s on Gilmore and his fellow defensive teammates to once again stand tall as the Patriots offense moves on without the greatest quarterback of all-time.
That won’t be easy. And it certainly won’t be easy for the Pro Bowl cornerback to match the season he had in the Patriots secondary.
"I just try to be the same guy and player that I am. I just put in work each and every day,” Gilmore said after the Patriots first padded practice on Monday. “And I know what it took for me last year to play consistently each and every game. There's nothing I can do but just put my head down and work hard and try to achieve things this year each and every day."
Gilmore wasn’t just consistent in 2019. He was dominant. He was the team’s best player. This season, the Patriots will need another lockdown performance from their No. 1 cornerback. After all the offseason losses on both sides of the ball, Gilmore’s performance in the secondary could help right this ship.
Last year, Gilmore put together a historic season. He earned first-team All-Pro honors for the second year in a row, his third Pro Bowl selection, and he became the first Patriot to be named NFL Defensive Player of the Year, the first defensive back since Troy Polamalu in 2010. Gilmore finished 2019 tied for the NFL-lead in interceptions with six and led the league in passes defended (20). He also scored two touchdowns.
On top of all of the individual accolades, Gilmore helped lead a Patriots defense that was ranked as one of the best in the NFL. The Pats finished at the top of the league in total defense (275.9 yards per game) and points allowed per game (14.1).
That defense was much needed in 2019. Brady’s last season in New England was one in which the offense often struggled. That was especially evident in the team’s 20-13 loss to the Tennessee Titans in the AFC wildcard playoff round.
Now, without Brady, things won’t get easier. Gilmore said he hopes to step up once again.
"It happens a lot in the league. People come, people go,” Gilmore said. “You've got to adjust and try to be consistent with your game, just control what you can control. And that's what I'm going to do — control what I can control and try to make plays for my teammates."
At 29, Gilmore is still in the prime of his career. He’s faced plenty of pressure throughout his time in the NFL, but entering a season as the reigning Defensive Player of the Year is a bit different. After leading the Patriots last season, Gilmore hopes to build off his success. He admits it won’t be easy, but he worked hard this offseason. To maintain his level of play, Gilmore worked out with former NFL defensive back Dre Bly for the second year in a row.
"I have to earn it. Whatever my goals are, whatever I want to achieve, I have to earn it,” Gilmore said. “It's not easy. Practicing hard, working on my technique and making plays with my teammates. It takes day-to-day preparation and day-to-day execution. So, (I'm) just looking forward to training camp and looking forward to the season and seeing how it goes."