2024 Pre-Season Rank #38, 2023 Pre-Season Rank #48, 2022 Pre-Season Rank #57, 2021 Pre-Season Rank #118.  Peak Period 2019-23

Stefon Diggs joined the 10,000 Yard Receiving Club in 2024 in his lone year in Houston, but a torn ACL held him to eight Games and less than 500 Yards.   Those four consecutive Pro Bowls in Buffalo also came with the benefit of having Josh Allen as the Quarterback.   He now joins the rebuilding New England Patriots, and if healthy, will be a top option.  Diggs will have to compile a lot of Yards to get a Hall of Fame look, and this season will tell if he still has the wheels to make a run. 

Yes, we know that this is taking a while!

As many of you know, we here at Notinhalloffame.com are slowly generating the 50 of each major North American sports team.  That being said, we have existing Top 50 lists out and we always consistently look to update them when we can and based on necessity.  As such, we are very happy to present our pre-2021 revision of our top 50 New England Patriots of all-time.

As for all of our top 50 players in football we look at the following: 

1.  Advanced Statistics.

2.  Traditional statistics and how they finished in the NFL. 

3.  Playoff accomplishments.

4.  Their overall impact on the team and other intangibles not reflected in a stat sheet.

There are no additions to our top fifty, but three active Patriots moved up slightly, none of which affecting the top five, which as always, we present the top five.

1. Tom Brady

2. John Hannah

3. Rob Gronkowski

4. Logan Mankins

5. Andre Tippett

You can find the entire list here.

The three changes are:

Special Teams specialist, Matthew Slater, climbed from #30 to #28.

Defensive Back, Devin McCourty went up one spot to #39.

Former Defensive Player of the Year, Stefon Gilmore, went from #45 to #41.

We welcome your input and comments and as always, we thank you for your support.

Yes, we know that this is taking a while!

As many of you know, we here at Notinhalloffame.com are slowly generating the 50 of each major North American sports team. We have a new one to unveil today, that of the New England Patriots.

An inaugural franchise of the American Football League, the New England Patriots debuted as the Boston Patriots, but they were unable to win the AFL Title.  They did appear in the 1963 AFL Championship Game, but that was their only playoff appearance of the 1960s.

The Patriots took on New England as their designation when they moved to Foxborough in 1971, shortly after the NFL-AFL merger.  The Patriots only made it to the playoff twice in the 70s, but in the 80s, they went to their first Super Bowl but were thumped by the Chicago Bears in 1986.  A decade later, they were back again but lost to the Green Bay Packers.

The 2000s were completely different, and with Quarterback om Brady and Head Coach, Bill Belichick, the Pats won six Super Bowls, which is tied for the most with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

As for all of our top 50 players in football we look at the following: 

1.  Advanced Statistics.

2. Traditional statistics and how they finished in the NFL.

3. Playoff accomplishments.

4. Their overall impact on the team and other intangibles not reflected in a stat sheet.

Remember, this is ONLY based on what a player does on that particular team and not what he accomplished elsewhere and also note that we have placed an increased importance on the first two categories.

This list is updated up until the end of the 2019 Season.

The complete list can be found here, but as always, we announce our top five in this article.  They are:

1. Tom Brady

2. John Hannah

3. Rob Gronkowski

4. Logan Mankins

5. Andre Tippett

We will continue our adjustments on our existing lists and will continue developing our new lists.  

Look for our more material coming soon!

As always we thank you for your support.

Vito “Babe” Parilli took a long time to get to Boston after an excellent collegiate career at Kentucky.  Parilli was with the Green Bay Packers for two years, the Ottawa Rough Riders for two, the Cleveland Browns for one, Green Bay again for two, Ottawa back for one, and the Oakland Raiders for one season in 1960, which never saw anything of note. Parilli joined the Boston Patriots in 1961, and it was there where he had his biggest success.

With the exception of his final year in football as a Carolina Panther, Chris Slade was always a New England Patriot over his career.

From East Carolina, the New England Patriots took Tony Collins in the Second Round in 1981, and he proceeded to have just over 1,000 Yards From Scrimmage as a rookie.

Brian Holloway was a First Round Pick from USC in 1981, and he had the privilege of playing alongside Hall of Famer, John Hannah.

After playing for USC and their famed "all-black backfield," Sam Cunningham played for the New England Patriots for his entire pro career.

Troy Brown played all of his 15 seasons (1993-2007) with the New England Patriots, and it was a career in which he always found unique ways to contribute.

Stephon Gilmore played for the Buffalo Bills for five seasons, with the last one earning the Cornerback his first Pro Bowl.  The New England Patriots signed him before the 2017 Season, and Gilmore would become the best Cornerback in Football.

Many teams historically have had players that they referred to as a "Swiss Army Knife" in that they were so versatile that they could be used in many roles.  For the New England Patriots, one such player was Kevin Faulk, who played his entire career (1999-2011) with the Pats.

Lawyer Milloy became a starter during his rookie season, recording two Interceptions and was named an All-Rookie.  The Patriots went to the Super Bowl that year with Milloy recording eight Tackles.

After four seasons flying under the radar with the Pittsburgh Steelers, Mike Vrabel signed as a Free Agent in 2001 with the New England Patriots.  The move likely was noticed by only the most diehard Pats fans, but as it turned out, the signing was a steal.

Livingstone College doesn't produce a lot of top-flight athletes, but when one dominates as Ben Coates did, regardless of the competition, NFL teams are going to notice.

When you think of Randy Moss, the Minnesota Vikings are automatically (and should always be) the team you think of.  He did have a spectacular season wearing the uniform of the New England Patriots, which lands him on this list.

After playing for the San Diego Chargers for nine years, Rodney Harrison joined the New England Patriots in 2003, bringing a veteran presence and a hungry attitude to what was already a great team.

As of this writing, Devin McCourty has played twelve seasons in the NFL, all of which in a Patriots uniform.

Playing at the University of South Carolina, Tom Addison was drafted by the Baltimore Colts and the Ottawa Rough Riders of the Canadian Football League in 1958, but he never played for either team.  He would sign with the Boston Patriots of the American Football League in 1960, a club where he would become a leader on and off the field.

As of this writing, Julius Adams is one of four players who has played over 200 Games for the New England Patriots, which places him in rare company.

Matt Light plied his college trade at Purdue, and the New England Patriots were fortunate to land him with their 2001 Second Round Pick.