condon84
Experienced Starter w/First Big Contract
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Terrific question, and good observations. So far, we've seen Mayo and McCourty play in seriously flawed defenses, while Patrick Willis has been playing in a dominant defense during Harbaugh's tenure, and Thomas has been backstopping a great defense for the past two years.
If Mayo and McCourty can play aggressively within a defense like the 2014 version with so much talent at all three levels, and stay healthy, I can see them rising to the level of elite at their positions. Especially Mayo.
My feeling about this is that both Mayo and McCourty have had to make up for weaknesses at their respective levels of the defense. Mayo covering for guys like Jermaine Cunningham and Brandon Spikes, and McCourty being out-of-position most of the time with a frighteningly bad secondary two years ago until Talib showed up and he shifted to safety, and about the same last year (although Harmon, Ryan and Steve Gregory were upgrades over the year before.)
It's still amazing to me how the Patriots went to the Super Bowl in 2011 with guys like Sterling Moore, James Ihedigbo, Arrington and Chung as mainstays along with McCourty at cornerback.
NFL HOF? Who knows? Guys like Bruschi, McGinest, Harrison and Law probably won't get there. So who's to say about Willis, Thomas, Mayo and McCourty. The only one who has a long enough resume to be in the discussion is Willis, and he needs his team to break through and win the big one to make a legitimate claim at this point.
Vince was also in the same seriously flawed defense but was still able to show his elite status and dominate.