New England Patriots special teams star Matthew Slater pens emotional letter upon retirement

He was a receiver and part-time defender at UCLA. But he was an ace on special teams, especially on returns. He also boasted excellent NFL bloodlines. His dad, Jackie Slater, was an offensive tackle who played two decades with the Rams on his way to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The Patriots traded up to snag him and it’s paid off ever since.

Bill Belichick: Slater is the best special teams player of all-time

Before he coached his final season for the Patriots, Bill Belichick named-checked a ton of special team all-stars but had Slater at the top of the list.

“When you have the opportunity to coach players that are great in areas, and that of course includes the specialists,” Belichick said. “Guys like Adam Vinatieri and (Stephen) Gostkowski, don’t want to take anything away from them, either. And great punters like (Sean) Landeta and (Dave) Jennings and so forth.

“But the special teams coverage guys — and we’ve had a lot of them — back in the Giants, you know, with Reyna Thompson, and great returners like (Dave) Meggett and (Julian) Edelman and Troy Brown and all that. But as a core special teams player, Slater really is, I’d say, been the best of all time. I hope he gets recognized for that.”