Logan Mankins walked into Foxborough as the final pick of the 2005 first round and immediately claimed the left guard job like he had been there for years. The Fresno State mauler earned a runner-up finish for Offensive Rookie of the Year, All-Rookie honors that season, and never gave up the starting spot.

Two years later, the Pro Bowls started. After a short pause, he rattled off five straight from 2009 through 2013. The absolute peak came in 2010, when he earned first-team All-Pro while turning the left side of the line into a no-fly zone for pass rushers and a highway for the running game. Five second-team All-Pro nods followed. Defensive linemen who lined up across from him quickly learned there were no easy snaps when Mankins got into his stance.

Then came 2011, the season that still feels almost unbelievable. Mankins played the entire year, playoffs included, on a torn ACL. He started 15 regular-season games and three more in the postseason, gutting through Super Bowl XLVI against the Giants while the other knee was also compromised. The toughness was quiet and absolute. The cruel irony sat right next to it: nine seasons protecting Tom Brady produced zero Super Bowl rings. The one trip to the big game ended in a loss, and the championships that defined the Brady era arrived just outside Mankins’ window. The rings came before he got there and after he left.

Once the 2013 season ended, Mankins pushed for a bigger payday and was traded to Tampa Bay. His nine-year run in New England stopped there. With the Patriots, he started all 130 games he played. His availability and Pro Bowl streak told the story: he was the steady left-side anchor while the team stayed in the mix, even if the ultimate prize never landed on his finger.

He added one final Pro Bowl in Tampa before hanging up his cleats. The Patriots later put him on their 50th Anniversary Team and All-2010s Team. The last pick of the 2005 first round left as one of the most reliable guards of his generation in New England, a quiet force whose peak simply never synced up with a championship.