Fantasy Football Fallout: Should You Trust Stephon Gilmore-Less Patriots?

Whether you believe cornerback Stephon Gilmore really needs more time to recover from quad surgery or you believe the Patriots weren’t able to come to a contract solution, the reality is the 2019 Defensive Player of the Year won’t be on the field for at least six weeks.

And while the real-life Patriots could feel some sort of impact with Gilmore headed to the physically unable to perform (PUP) list, it also could have a trickle-down effect in fantasy football.

It begs the question: Should you still trust New England’s defense, despite the fact the Patriots will be without their top cornerback? Well, there’s a lot to dissect.

First and foremost, the Patriots have a pass rush that certainly could overshadow Gilmore’s absence. With the reunion of Kyle Van Noy, offseason signing of Matthew Judon and return of linebacker Dont’a Hightower, just to name a few, the New England front seven is going to give opponents fits up front. And the better the pass rush, the shorter the Patriots secondary — now led by J.C. Jackson — will have to cover. Jackson, specifically, seems to be more than capable of filling the void left by Gilmore, but it really comes down to a player like Jalen Mills, and how he can perform in starting snaps.

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Of course, there’s the added bonus that while New England’s cornerback group could miss Gilmore, the defensive backfield featuring Devin McCourty and Adrian Phillips, along with second-year safety Kyle Dugger, provides plenty of confidence. Simply, it’s a fairly stacked group.

It’s also important to note that the Patriots will face two of the tougher receiving corps in the league — Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Dallas Cowboys — without Gilmore. New England will host Tom Brady’s Buccaneers during Week 4 and Dak Prescott’s Cowboys during Week 6. But on the other hand, the fact New England faces the Miami Dolphins, New York Jets, Michael Thomas-less New Orleans Saints and Deshaun Watson-less Houston Texans during the other four weeks without Gilmore is a bit easier to swallow.

And when Gilmore does return, especially considering he’ll be playing for another contract in the final 11 or so games, the two-time All-Pro should elevate the defensive unit to group worthy of starting week after week. Both Yahoo! Sports and ESPN have New England as their eighth-ranked defense.

So where do we stand? It wouldn’t be the worst idea to have another starting-caliber defense to use sporadically throughout the first six weeks this season, but overall the Patriots, even without Gilmore, deserve your confidence.

…And a roster spot.

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