Pair of Patriots named among 100 most valuable players of the 2022 NFL season

Only two Patriots made the cut.

ESPN released a modified version of an All-Pro team on Tuesday, ranking the 100 most valuable players in the league. Among them are two members of the New England Patriots: edge linebacker Matthew Judon is checking in at No. 26, followed by safety Kyle Dugger at No. 61.

While no blurb was written about the impressive third-year defensive back, who scored three touchdowns in 2022, ESPN’s Seth Walder did write the following about Judon:

26. Matthew Judon, EDGE, Patriots

Considering his 15.5 sacks, the question on Judon might be why so low? He was valuable, of course. But the raw production numbers overstate his impact. It’s not just that Judon posted a 13% pass rush win rate at edge, which is below average, but also that his sacks weren’t very quick. Among players with 10 or more sacks, none had a higher average time to sack (5.09 seconds) than Judon. Put the two numbers together, and it starts to paint the picture of a player who was productive and valuable, but quite possibly because of the circumstances around him, including a strong secondary.

Judon was the only member of the Patriots voted to this year’s Pro Bowl. He did not make it onto the AP All-Pro team, however; rookie return specialist Marcus Jones represented the organization there.