Patriots' Belichick: Saints' Cam Jordan Among NFL Players I Have the Most Respect For

New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick listed New Orleans Saints defensive end Cameron Jordan as one of his most respected players in the league.

Speaking at his Wednesday press conference (via Grant Gordon of NFL.com), Belichick emphasized the eight-time Pro Bowler's talent and durability since he entered the league in 2011 with the 24th overall pick in the draft.

"Jordan is one of the players I have the most respect for in the league," Belichick said. "He's been a great player for a long time, very durable, whatever it was -- 177 straight games he played. This guy shows up every week and plays well, run, pass, situational football, really smart player. This guy's a great player."

This is high praise coming from defensive maestro such as Belichick, who has won six Super Bowls as a head coach and two more as a coordinator.

Jordan has also shown to be more than worthy of the recognition, as the New Orleans pass rusher was named to the 2010s All-Decade Team by the NFL and Pro Football Hall of Fame back in 2020.

He finished fourth in AP Defensive Player of the Year voting in 2017, and his 116.0 career sacks currently ranks second among all active players.

While the 34-year-old is only credited with 0.5 quarterback takedowns in four games this year, he's still part of an imposing Saints defense that currently ranks ninth in points allowed with 19.0 per game.

Meanwhile, Belichick's Patriots are looking to get back on the right track after a 1-3 start to the season that saw their sputtering offense fail to score at least 20 points in three out of four contests thus far.

Starting quarterback Mac Jones currently sits at 898 passing yards, with just 5 touchdowns and 4 interceptions to go along with a career-low 80.8 quarterback rating. Top running back Rhamondre Stevenson is also averaging a mere 2.7 yards per attempt on 60 carries.

The Patriots and Saints will face off in Foxborough this Sunday, October 8th at 1:00 p.m. ET.