You don’t win six Super Bowls without a lot of great players. Just ask the New England Patriots.
Now, many of those greats were with the organization over a two-decade span in the franchise’s 65 seasons. But those greats helped the Patriots quickly become one of the league’s premier franchises, tying a record for the most Super Bowl wins ever and holding the record for most Super Bowl appearances (11).
Of those greats, there were a few that established themselves as better players than the rest of the group. So, let’s take a look at the 10 best players in Patriots history.
10. Stanley Morgan (1977-1989)
Morgan was an integral part of the successful seasons the Patriots had in the 1980s, emerging as one of the most explosive players in NFL history after they took him with their first-round pick in the 1977 draft. The four-time Pro Bowler and two-time second-team All-Pro’s 19.2 yards per reception are the most ever in NFL history for a receiver with at least 500 receptions. His 10,352 receiving yards are also the most in Patriots history. Morgan hasn’t been inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, but was enshrined in the team’s Hall of Fame in 2007.
9. Vince Wilfork (2004-2014)
Wilfork was at the center of some of the peak years of the Patriots’ dynasty run. Playing nose tackle, Wilfork never put up incredible stats as he never recorded four sacks in a season and only had 60-plus tackles once. But Bill Belichick once noted that Wilfork was “impossible to block in the running game” as New England often had some of the league’s best defenses during his 11 years there. That helped the Patriots win two Super Bowls and play in two more as Wilfork was a five-time Pro Bowler and a four-time All-Pro (one first-team).
8. Logan Mankins (2005-2013)
There were many great players who played in New England during the Patriots’ dynasty run, but not all of them were fortunate enough to win a Super Bowl. Mankins’ time in New England perfectly aligned with the 10-year drought that the Patriots had between Super Bowls, getting drafted right after their third win in 2004 and traded weeks before their title-winning season in 2014. But Mankins was consistently among the league’s best offensive linemen during his time in Foxborough, earning seven Pro Bowl and six All-Pro (one first-team) nods. Mankins’ inability to win a Super Bowl also wasn’t due to a lack of him trying. He played the entire 2011 season with an ACL tear, which ended in a Super Bowl lo
