Getty Kyle Van Noy
How do you harshly criticize a key player on a 9-4 team who belongs to the squad’s best unit? Well, it can happen, and it has in the case of New England Patriots veteran linebacker Kyle Van Noy.
The 30-year-old was identified as the player on his team who is past his prime or whose “best days are behind them” by Bleacher Report’s Brent Sobleski in a recent article. Sobleski wrote:
The New England Patriots are tricky when trying to assess future decline in performance, because the organization usually does a good job investing its money and letting go of a player too soon instead of too late. As such, Kyle Van Noy makes this list almost by default. He’s been outstanding this season and played as well as any other linebacker at points. Van Noy is the perfect fit for the Patriots. With all of that said, New England features two starters over 30 on defense who are signed beyond this season. Lawrence Guy joins Van Noy as the potential holdovers. Of the two, Guy plays fewer snaps. The organization also has his eventual replacement on the roster in Christian Barmore. Van Noy is interesting in that he turns 31 next season, and it’s difficult to project him playing this well, particularly in pass coverage, for another campaign. Van Noy will definitely have a place in Bill Belichick’s defense because he does everything well, but maintaining his current performance a year from now may be asking too much.
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Sobleski didn’t completely slam Van Noy, but when you include a guy on a list of players whose “best days are behind them,” it’s not exactly a compliment–especially when he’s only 30 years old.
There is more to evaluating an NFL player than simply looking at basic stats, but a quick glance at Van Noy’s numbers don’t immediately support Sobleski’s point. Van Noy’s career high in sacks is 6.5. He reached that number in 2019 with the Patriots. He had 6 in 2020 with the Miami Dolphins. He has missed time this year due to injury, but through 12 games, he already has 4.
It seems totally feasible he could collect 2 or perhaps even 3 more over the next 3 games. We’re not even counting the 17th game on the schedule. Even if he only gets one more or none, it is still hard to say that he is past his prime–especially when there are others on the team who might be more clear examples of this concept.
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What About Devin McCourty?
There is no question, Patriots veteran Devin McCourty is still one of the heartbeats of the roster. However, does anyone believe McCourty, at 34 years old, is still in his prime?
McCourty has had a strong year with 2 interceptions and only 7 completions on 22 targets in pass coverage, but he is no longer the explosive back-end defender he used to be early in his career.
What About Dont’a Hightower?
Things have improved with Hightower of late, but he started the season off pretty slowly. After sitting out the 2020 season, Hightower looked slow and less physical through the first 4-6 weeks of the season.
Even though his level of play has rebounded in some facets of the game, he still has just a half-sack in 12 contests. That’s not ideal production. However, the Patriots’ defense has been the most consistent aspect of their team.
It’s probably best to focus on how well they are achieving collectively.
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Patriots Veteran LB Labeled Past His Prime