Malcolm Butler: Top 20 CB of All Time?

[Biffins]

The 2 worst picks are sherman at #9--way,way,WAY overrated- he's not top 15,and Revis at 16!! Are you kidding me!? Revis is top 5 all time and in the conversation for #1,along with primetime and Mike Haynes.
Also champ Bailey is way too low-he's top 10 all time.
As for Malcolm- look, he's top 5 in the NFL right now and yes,he's a better cb right now than Sherman,despite what some fools on this board think. But top 20 RIGHT NOW? After 3 seasons? That's ridiculous. And I'm a huge Butler fan.
I agree with the poster who said he's the best player on the Pats D, w/o question and we have some really good probowl- caliber guys like Hightower,Dmac,chung,Gilmore and blossoming star in flowers.
He may well be in the hof,but damn,top 20 after just 3 years? That's just stupid.

Recency bias.

I'll guess you'll kick out of the top 10 all these Hall of Fame chumps like Mel Renfro, Mel Blount, Darrell Green etc.

Who do you remove from top 5 to add Revis. Willie Brown, or Charles Woodson, or Rod Woodson? I would argue that all 3 had relatively longer and more productive careers. Revis was a late bloomer, was unarguably the best in the league for 3-4 years or so and faded relatively quickly compared to most cornerbacks. Charles Woodson was 38 years old when he was voted to Pro Bowl for 9th time. Revis was 30 last year and already finished.

 

[PatsWickedPissah]

Help me out here.

Charles Woodson is the third greatest corner of all time and was voted first team All Pro three times.

Darrelle Revis is the sixteenth greatest cornerback of all time. He was voted first team All Pro four times.

All four times Revis was voted first team All Pro, Charles Woodson was active in the NFL. (I may be wrong, Woodson may have retired before the last one, but still.)

Someone please square this circle for me because I can't.

(Real talk: Revis is a top-5 corner all time and Woodson is one of the most overrated players in league history, even if he does probably deserve to be a Hall of Famer. He isn't even the best Raiders corner of the 21st century, and the fact Nnamdi doesn't appear on this list despite being an historically dominant corner for a short period is a sure signal of recency bias because he would have been listed as a top 10 corner of all time five years ago.)

Ty Law may or may not be where he deserves, but honestly at this point I'd put even Asante above Butler in all time rankings (and that's not an insult to Butler.)

You had me right up to that last sentence when you went all Falcons.

 

[Joker]

I think you have to rank CB's by era. Too many rules changes over the decades to make across the board comparisons and rankings. IMO of course...

 

[FourierSeries]

As for Malcolm- look, he's top 5 in the NFL right now and yes,he's a better cb right now than Sherman

 

[PatriotsReign]

We ***** when our guys are snubbed and we ***** when they're recognized.

I think you're underestimating Patriots fans and trying to rip us off!

You're right!

 

[JPPT1974]

At least he did not rest on his laurels over on that SB 49 INT. And is elite.

 

[jimnance]

Kinda proves my point.

 

[jimnance]

Recency bias.

I'll guess you'll kick out of the top 10 all these Hall of Fame chumps like Mel Renfro, Mel Blount, Darrell Green etc.

Who do you remove from top 5 to add Revis. Willie Brown, or Charles Woodson, or Rod Woodson? I would argue that all 3 had relatively longer and more productive careers. Revis was a late bloomer, was unarguably the best in the league for 3-4 years or so and faded relatively quickly compared to most cornerbacks. Charles Woodson was 38 years old when he was voted to Pro Bowl for 9th time. Revis was 30 last year and already finished.

Definitely NOT recency bias. Been watching pro football since 1960.
All the guys you named were great. Darrell Green probably my favorite xb of all time.
How is it recency bias if I said Sherman is overrated and Revis underrated?
Some of this is subjective- difficult to compare different eras with different rules. Harder to be a cb today since teams throw so much. Oth, who knows how many more picks guys like brown,renfro,Haynes etc would've had if the passing game was as prolific when they played as it is now.
But I know this- revis is the best cb(at his peak) of anyone still playing. He was as dominant in his own way as prime and Haynes. Those are my top 3. All the other guys you mentioned are in my top 10. But Sherman is grossly overrated

 

[DarrylS]

Sportswriters gotta write something to justify their existence and salary... more dipshittery for the masses or for the agents.

 

[tasmlab]

Hopefully Butler earns that ranking by the end of his career, but yea, too soon.

FWIW, as a benchmark, Revis seems to be done at 31. Butler is already 28. Butler could possibly have a very short career. And if he takes big money to go play for Tampa Bay or whoever next year, his legacy could end up being nothing but the interception.

Or he could play for another decade and resign with the Pats and get more interceptions and more rings and go to the HOF.

 

[PatsBoy12]

This list simply sucks.

 

[neuronet]

Gil's a jackass.

He's pretty much universally respected for what he did in the past in terms of developing scouting techniques. I guarantee Belichick (and previously, Belichick's father) has a lot of respect for him. But the guy is pretty old (84 I think). If you listen to him on SiriusXM it is clear he isn't 100% any more, but his knowledge of the history of the game is impressive. He was with the Cowboys from 1960 to 1989. He's sort of a legend.

I'll cut him some slack for saying one of our active CBs is in the top 20 of all time.

 

[neuronet]

And if he takes big money to go play for Tampa Bay or whoever next year, his legacy could end up being nothing but the interception.

His legacy is already more than the interception. He is a great player.

 

[Wheelman]

He's pretty much universally respected for what he did in the past in terms of developing scouting techniques. I guarantee Belichick (and previously, Belichick's father) has a lot of respect for him. But the guy is pretty old (84 I think). If you listen to him on SiriusXM it is clear he isn't 100% any more, but his knowledge of the history of the game is impressive. He was with the Cowboys from 1960 to 1989. He's sort of a legend.

I'll cut him some slack for saying one of our active CBs is in the top 20 of all time.

I won't cut him any slack. A lot of his articles are just dumb.

 

[bormio]

His legacy is already more than the interception. He is a great player.

People sometimes think BB sticks a bunch of stiffs out there and wins. We have GREAT players not named Brady and Gronk. Naming Butler top 20 all time may be nothing more than premature - he may be that before it is all over. I bet he outplays Gilmore's azz this year. As a side note, watched an interview Deion Sanders gave this year. Was asked if Jordy Nelson was better than Edelman - without hesitation he said "Nope".

 

[signbabybrady]

1 play is all the convincing I need.

 

[Pats1989]

Top 20 CB of all time? No. Dude has only played two seasons. Top 5 play in NFL history? Yes.

 

[Pats1989]

1 play is all the convincing I need.

This. He should never have to buy a drink in the New England area ever again.

 

[Danger Zone]

Scrappiest and most willing (and able?) tackler of a CB that comes to my amateur recollection.

I am probably at great risk of over-simplifying things, but seems to be he has everything you'd want from a killer coverage safety except that he's still viable as a #1/#2 CB.

 

[Nehalem]

Hopefully Butler earns that ranking by the end of his career, but yea, too soon.

FWIW, as a benchmark, Revis seems to be done at 31. Butler is already 28. Butler could possibly have a very short career. And if he takes big money to go play for Tampa Bay or whoever next year, his legacy could end up being nothing but the interception.

Or he could play for another decade and resign with the Pats and get more interceptions and more rings and go to the HOF.

Butler is only 27.