Stephon Gilmore -- World's Most Consistent Man -- Not Distracted By Offseason of Accolades
By Michael Hurley, CBS Boston
BOSTON (CBS) -- If you thought that the soft-spoken Stephon Gilmore would enter training camp a changed man after winning Defensive Player of the Year and being named the best cornerback in the NFL by his peers, well, you'd be showing that you don't know Stephon Gilmore all that well.
Outside of an occasional brief moment to send a self-congratulatory tweet, Gilmore's carried himself with a quiet confidence and a no-nonsense demeanor on and off the field since signing for big money in 2017. In the three years since, he's ascended to the very top of the league at his position.
Gilmore met with the media via video conference on Monday, after the Patriots' first full-team, full-contact practice of training camp. He's never quite been like the boastful best corners in the game who have come before him, and the mild-mannered, straightforward 29-year-old from South Carolina didn't sound like he's spent too much time soaking in the glow of all the acclaim.
"I just try to be the same guy and player that I am," Gilmore said when asked if he had to put in any extra effort to keep his focus after receiving near-universal praise over the past eight months. "I just put in work each and every day. And I know what it took for me last year to play consistently each and every game. There's nothing I can do but just put my head down and work hard and try to achieve things this year each and every day."
Gilmore became the first defensive back to win the Defensive Player of the Year Award since 2010 (Troy Polamalu), and the first cornerback to win the award since 2009 (Charles Woodson). Since the mid-'90s, no other cornerback has won the award.
Gilmore also earned his second straight spot on the All-Pro First Team, as a Pro Bowler for the second straight year, and he ranked at No. 9 on the annual "NFL Top 100" list, which is voted on by NFL players. Gilmore was the second-highest ranked defensive player, behind only Aaron Donald.
Despite experiencing The Offseason Of Gilmore, the cornerback said he's still committed to improving the old-fashioned way -- through hard work.
"Like I said, I just take it day by day. It's not easy," Gilmore said. "You have to work for whatever you earn in this league. Whatever accolades you win, you have to work for. So I know it's not going to be easy. I have to put the work in each and every day and compete against my teammates and get better. Hopefully that carries over to the game, but it takes one day at a time, and that's how I approach it."
When pressed on whether or not he believes he has another level he can reach in 2020, Gilmore issued a response that sounded like carbon copies of his previous answers.
"I have to earn it. Whatever my goals are, whatever I want to achieve, I have to earn it," Gilmore said. "It's not easy. Practicing hard, working on my technique and making plays with my teammates. It takes day-to-day preparation and day-to-day execution. So, just looking forward to training camp and looking forward to the season and seeing how it goes."
With Gilmore, those tend to be the answers you get. You don't get proclamations about being the greatest, or contract complaints, or general trash talk directed to any opponents. It's not quite the same experience as, say, Richard Sherman's or Darrelle Revis' or Deion Sanders' reigns as the best cornerback in the world.
That type of mentality ought to serve him well after an extended period where it would be easy to get a bit dizzy reading his press clippings.
Still, Gilmore knows that he's the best corner in the game, and he asserted as much during that NFL Network show. When asked to name the No. 1 player in the entire league, Gilmore matter-of-factly responded, "Umm, I would pick myself."
It's that rare blend of unwavering confidence with a relentless focus on improvement. It's served him well on his ascent, and the Patriots are likely rather pleased that he doesn't appear to be changing a thing for 2020.
