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Stephon Gilmore has been in the NFL for 12 seasons, and he has had success everywhere he has been. But, no doubt, his best seasons were in New England, where he was selected for two All-Pro teams and helped the Patriots to a Super Bowl championship in 2018. He was the AP’s Defensive Player of the Year that year, and led the league with 20 passes defended and six interceptions.
While the return of Ezekiel Elliott to Dallas is grabbing the headlines, the Patriots will be seeing an old friend, too, with Gilmore now patrolling the defensive backfield for the Cowboys. He is 33, and not the same player he was in his New England heyday, but coach Bill Belichick wants his offense to keep on its toes—Gilmore is still dangerous and has recorded an interception already this season, in the opener against the Giants.
Gilmore figures to take on a bigger role as the Cowboys juggle their defensive backs following the season-ending injury to Trevon Diggs.
“Steph’s had a great career,” Belichick said in his meeting with the media this week. “He plays on our right side. Diggs played on the left, and then last week they moved [DaRon] Bland out there and [Jourdan] Lewis played inside. But, yeah, Steph looks kind of how he’s always looked – long, disruptive and really good ball skills. You’ve got to be careful throwing the ball around him. He’ll catch it.”
Hunter Henry: Gilmore a ‘Special Player’
Tight end Hunter Henry has seen Gilmore at his best. He was with the Patriots in 2021, after Gilmore had gone on to Carolina in free agency. Gilmore picked off a Mac Jones pass in the Panthers’ meeting with the Patriots that year.
“Steph is just incredible. He’s a great player, he’s so smart,” Henry said, via Pats Pulpit. “Obviously, his career speaks for itself. I think just the production and everything that he’s done, and just what he brought here, too — just a special player, special person. Definitely a guy we have to be ready to go against because he’s seen this scheme, this offense, just different guys over the years, and he’s really, really smart. He studies well, he knows different tendencies, different things. So, you have to definitely keep your eye on him.”
Dallas Defense Among NFL’s Best
So Jones, for one, knows that Gilmore can catch. But he pointed out that, even with the egg laid by the Cowboys in their unexpected Week 3 loss to the Cardinals, there is much to be concerned about on the Dallas defense. They are third in the NFL in points allowed (38), and fourth in yardage allowed (786). They’re also fourth in the league with 2.3 takeaways per game.
That starts with the early Defensive Player of the Year favorite, linebacker Micah Parsons.
“I think you have to focus on everybody,” Jones said. “(Parsons is) definitely the top player in the league really, he’s the best player that we’ve gone against so far. When you look at their defense as a whole, I think obviously everybody is really good.
“Starting with Gilly (Stephon Gilmore), obviously played a lot of football does a great job reading the quarterback, he’s very instinctive. (Malik) Hooker has great range in the back end, he’s also played a lot of football, I played against him my rookie year. You look at (DaRon) Bland whose jumped out to corner, he’s a pretty good player, young, but fast, strong and will come up and tackle, played a lot of nickel.”
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