Malcolm Butler No. 1 Cornerback for New England

The New England Patriots start their 2015 NFL regular season on Thursday against the Pittsburgh Steelers. They will be facing one of the top passers in the league in Ben Roethlisberger and the Patriots secondary must be ready for the aerial attack that will come their way.

Last season the low point for Malcolm Butler a cornerback for the New England Patriots came in November when he was scratched from two straight games even though he was healthy.

The high point of season came late in the Super Bowl when he picked off a Russell Wilson pass on the goal line to preserve the New England lead and the Super Bowl championship.

Butler’s storyline is quite remarkable and the personable yet very humble cornerback does not have to worry any longer about being a healthy scratch for the Patriots.

He has earned the role of No. 1 cornerback for the Patriots and knows that means a great deal of responsibility on his part.

His rise to the top of the defensive secondary has been stunning. Last season the 25-year old only played 16% of his team’s defensive snaps behind corners Brandon Browner and Darrelle Revis.

Butler did not even play one defensive snap in the divisional round of the AFC playoffs against Baltimore and did not play until the third quarter against Seattle in the Super Bowl when he went in for Kyle Arrington who was struggling.

Yet he is one of the biggest reasons why the Super Bowl banner is going to be unveiled at Gillette Stadium Thursday night.

Now the Patriots are asking him for even more and he is ready to step up and deliver.

If New England uses Butler as they did Revis, he could be put up against the top receiver for the Steelers Antonio Brown. That is something Roethlisberger thought about on Sunday after calling Butler a fearless defender.

Bill Belichick the Patriots coach described Butler differently by saying he has been impresses by how he has not changed as a person even after his interception that changed the outcome of a Super Bowl.

Belichick said that Butler has not changed from one year to the next despite the important interception. He said Butler kept his lifestyle, sense of purpose and his humility.

He arrived in May of 2014 as an undrafted rookie and in only 15 months has risen unprecedentedly to the No. 1 cornerback for the Patriots.