7 Greatest New England Patriots of the 21st century

4. Richard Seymour – DL

After the Patriots finished 5-11 in their first season with Bill Belichick as their head coach, they ended up with the No. 6 pick in the 2001 NFL Draft. With this selection, New England added talented Georgia defensive lineman Richard Seymour.

Seymour began his career with the Patriots as a 4-3 defensive tackle. He started 12 games as a rookie including the AFC Championship and New England’s Super Bowl XXXVI win over the St. Louis Rams.

Year two with the Patriots is when Seymour began to come into his own. He started all 16 games during the regular season, finishing with 56 tackles, 5.5 sacks, and his first trip of five straight trips to the Pro Bowl.

In 2003, New England switched to a 3-4 defensive alignment and Seymour slid over to the outside at defensive end. The move turned out to work wonders for his career.

From 2003 to 2005, Seymour was voted to three Pro Bowls and he earned three First-Team All-Pro selections. During this time, the Patriots also won two more Super Bowl trophies.

Of all the defenders to suit up for New England during the 21st century, no one earned more First-Team All-Pro selections than Seymour. His 39 sacks during his time with the team are also the second-most by a Patriots defensive lineman since 2000.