New England Patriots cornerback Malcolm Butler has turned into one of the best players at his position. He made his name known as an under-the-radar performer for the Pats Super Bowl winning team following the 2014 season. Since then, all he has done is earn a trip to the Pro Bowl and ascend to the highest level of his profession.
But it wasn’t too long ago that Butler and elite didn’t seem to mesh together. Remember, he was an un-drafted free agent out of West Alabama back in 2014.
Less than two years prior to that and while he was still in college, Butler indicated just how much he wanted to be given the opportunity to go up against Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Julio Jones.
I wanna check julio jones…lol……real talk doe..
— Malcolm CB Butler (@Mac_BZ) December 23, 2012
Now that Butler will have that opportunity with his Patriots set to take on the Falcons in Super Bowl LI, he’s pretty much living a dream.
“Dreams do come true,” Butler said, via ESPN.com. “That’s not any trash talk or being cocky or anything. I had a vision.”
For his part, Jones doesn’t seem to be too worried about facing Butler a week from Sunday.
“He’s a great player,” Jones said of Butler. “But at the end of the day, I’ve just got to focus on me, and getting me better, and just working with my teammates.”
This promises to be one of the best matchups in a game that pits the league’s No. 1 scoring offense against the top-scoring defense. Jones is coming off a 180-yard, two-touchdown performance against the Green Bay Packers in the NFC Championship Game.
Meanwhile, Butler held Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown to two catches for 24 yards when the two were matched up against one another in the AFC Championship Game.
Yeah, this should be fun.