Retired New England Patriots linebacker Willie McGinest put together a list of the five best football players he’s had the pleasure of playing with, and the best defensive player on that list was Ty Law.
The list went 5) tight end Ben Coates, 4) defensive end Richard Seymour, 3) tackle Joe Thomas, 2) cornerback Ty Law and 1) quarterback Tom Brady. The decision to list Law as the best defensive player comes with little surprise. The Patriots drafted him at 23rd overall in the 1995 NFL Draft, and he went on to have 10 impressive seasons with the team before bouncing around the NFL to the New York Jets, Kansas City Chiefs and Denver Broncos — but not before winning three Super Bowls with New England.
“Introducing Mr. Take Away Your Best Receiver. That was Ty Law. He wanted the challenge of facing the very best receiver, whether it was within the game plan or not. He was strong at the line of scrimmage, had great ball awareness and worked for everything he got. He did a lot of conditioning before, during and after practice, and he always wanted to hold up his end. I have no doubt that Ty Law was the best cornerback of his era; he led the NFL in interceptions twice and led the Patriots in INTs six times. Always attacking the ball, he became a receiver when the ball was in the air, often preventing the receiver from making a play.
“But Law’s best attribute was his confidence. No one could tell him he wasn’t the best CB in the NFL or that he couldn’t cover the league’s top receiver. He thrived off those comments and could play man or zone extremely well, allowing him to play in a lot of systems if needed. With confidence through the roof and no fear, Law made one helluva career for himself.”
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