Who are the most irreplaceable Patriot Players?

[zydecochris]

Which Patriots players are most irreplaceable? That is, where are the biggest drops between the player and the “next man up”? Who the replacement player is matters, i.e., it matters that Soldier’s replacement is Fleming while McCourty’s replacement is Harmon (who might be the best backup free safety in the league). Here is my list and briefly why:

1) Brady – GOAT, no-brainer.
2) Gronk – GTEOAT (Greatest Tight End Of All Time), another no-brainer.
3) Soldier –LT is a very difficult position to replace. With him I think the Pats win a 5th ring last year.
4) Butler – Pro Bowl cornerback on rookie contract, sounds valuable to me.
5) Collins – See above and replace “cornerback” with “linebacker”.
6) Hightower – Should have been the same as above.
7) McCourty – Underrated general of the defensive backfield.
8) Edelman – Perfect receiver for Brady, smart, quick, and tough.
9) Ninkovich – Mr. Dependable, always at the right spot at the right time.
10) Brown – On rookie contract, I expect another jump this year.

Anyone else have their own ranking of most irreplaceable Patriot players?

 

[mosi]

That would be me.

 

[DefenseRules]

There are NO irreplaceable players on BB's team.

 

[Brady_to_Moss]

Hightower is very high for me...and him probably not playing this week would hurt a bit

 

[WaterfallJumper]

The top three were missing last week. We did okay. No one is irreplaceable on this team -- we just need players to do their job and we can win in this league.

 

[Edelmania]

How bout Gostkowski

 

[Two Eight]

I'd move Edelman and Hightower into the top 5 and I'd add Gostkowski.

The difference between the best kicker in the league and just an average kicker is W's vs L's. As Collinsworth said Sunday night "what a weapon he is"