Matthew Judon lands among top 10 edge rushers in ESPN poll of NFL players, coaches, executives

BOSTON -- Last year, only one member of the Patriots ended up getting enough votes from players, coaches and executives in ESPN's polls ranking the best players at every position. Matthew Judon was not one of them, and he stood out as a rather notable snub.

This year, though, Judon is getting his proper due.

Jeremy Fowler released the first positional poll on Monday, with Judon coming in at eighth.

At least one of the 80 voters ranked Judon as high as third, though at least one voter left Judon off the ballot completely.

"He has the ideal traits -- now he has the elite production to match," an NFL coordinator told ESPN.

The write-up said that evaluators saw Judon as a bit of an underachiever during his time in Baltimore, "but since pairing with coach Bill Belichick in New England, he's been one of the game's most productive edge rushers, with 28 sacks since 2021. Judon also had seven pass breakups last year."

Judon was a Pro Bowler in each of his final two seasons in Baltimore, and he's made the Pro Bowl in each of his two seasons in New England thus far. He had 12.5 sacks in 2021 but improved to 15.5 sacks in 2022, tying him for fourth-most in the NFL.

Nick Bosa topped the list, followed by Myles Garrett, Micah Parsons, T.J. Watt and Haason Reddick.

Out of the top 10, Judon, Parsons and Reddick made the list after not appearing on it a year ago. (Parsons ranked in the top 10 for off-ball linebackers last year, not edge rushers.) Chandler Jones, Cameron Jordan and Khalil Mack fell out of the top 10 from last year, though Mack and Jordan were honorable mentions, and Jones did receive votes. No other Patriots received any votes, which means Josh Uche's 11.5-sack season was not enough to convince the NFL world that he's an elite pass rusher.

The edge rusher category was the third position in ESPN's series so far this season, and the Patriots had zero players receive votes at off-ball linebacker or defensive tackle. In terms of other positions where the Patriots may land a player among the top 10, Kyle Dugger should certainly get some votes at safety, Rhamondre Stevenson could earn some votes at running back, and Mike Onwenu should be well-regarded around the league as a top interior lineman.