Report: Two Patriots Players Selected To All-NFL Team For 2020 Season

The New England Patriots had great success with the special teams. Patriots punter Jake Bailey and punt returner Gunner Olszewski got their spots on the Pro Football Writers of America All-NFL and All-AFC teams in 2020. The announcement was made Monday.

Bailey was great in the 2020 NFL season. He led the league in net punting average with 45.6 yards. Olszewski paces qualified return players in both punt return average and total punt return yards. He has 17.3 yards per runback which is a franchise record.

Olszewski returned one punt 70 yards for a TD. A penalty wiped away his other score.

Olszewski and Bailey earn their spots on the All-NFL team in 2020

Both Bailey and Olszewski are in their second season with the Patriots. These two are the only Patriots players to see first-team All-Pro honors from the Associated Press. Bailey is one of three Patriots Pro Bowlers. Cornerback Stephon Gilmore and special teamer Matthew Slater are the other Patriots players to earn the honor.

New England saw struggles on both ends of the game. 2020 was an awful season for the Patriots, and players saw struggles in both offense and defense. However, players did well in the kicking game. They rank first in Football Outsiders’ special teams DVOA. These great players had special spots in Rick Gosselin’s annual special teams rankings.

Olszewski will keep doing his great job on the field. He works in perfect synergy with his teammates, and also received a great piece of advice from veteran wide receiver Julian Edelman. The punt returner wanted to be like Tom Brady or Edelman. However, he realized that every player moves differently. The same things don’t work for everyone, and Edelman knows it well. Olszewski accepted the advice and didn’t follow Edelman’s footsteps. Edelman told him to do things differently and find his own way. Everybody is different with how they move around. Olszewski decided to find his way and he actually did an incredible job with the Patriots. This performance will give him an even greater award later in his career. Bill Belichick took notice of his talent.