What is one of the most important positions in football other than the quarterback? Cornerback.

Coming off an incredible Super Bowl victory, the Patriots should be concerned about important players about to be free agents. One of those is CB Logan Ryan.

Ryan has improved every season since being drafted by the Patriots in the second round of the 2013 NFL draft. He has been a perfect complement to Malcolm Butler, taking on the bigger receivers and playing technically sound defense to prevent big plays to some of the best receivers in the league. Re-signing him is pivotal.

If you take a look at the past five Super Bowl championships, every single team had a legit No. 1 shut down corner and a solid No. 2 corner.

If you think back to the seasons before the Patriots signed Darrelle Revis and Brandon Browner, you could make a case that the team’s weakness at cornerback cost the Patriots a Lombardi Trophy, or two. So it is very important to keep stable players at that position, and Ryan has certainly proven to be that.

Ryan did have some struggles. He was on pace to allow an NFL-record 105 receptions as the Patriots’ No. 2 corner through the first five weeks, until New England acquired Eric Rowe and put him outside, pushing Ryan to play in the slot. The switch effectively turned Ryan’s 2016 around.

Ryan became an excellent pass defender, but he was also really good against the run. He has been the Patriots’ top run-stopping cornerback, as well as the team’s best pass rushing cornerback.

One of his best games was in New England’s first postseason matchup against the Houston Texans. Ryan contributed with three passes defended, a sack and picked off Brock Osweiler.

Ryan also had an excellent AFC Championship Game in which he finished with nine tackles and one pass deflection. He had a touchdown-saving pass breakup in the fourth quarter on a fourth and goal.

The toughest part about re-signing Ryan is that he has become one of the top emerging corners in this league, and teams overpay for good cornerbacks. I’m expecting teams to offer Ryan $6 million-$7 million dollars a season.

Ryan also has the same agent Darrelle Revis used to have. We all know how well Revis has been paid throughout his career. Last offseason, Ryan’s agents got the New York Giants to lock up Janoris Jenkins with a 5-year, $62.5 million contract, including a $10 million signing bonus, $28.8 million guaranteed and an average annual salary of $12.5 million.

If the Patriots lose Ryan, they would likely look to replace him in the draft. But keep in mind the team used a second-round pick on cornerback Cyrus Jones last year, and he struggled during his rookie season.

As much I feel Ryan is an important piece to this defense, don’t be surprised if Ryan isn’t re-signed, as Bill Belichick is known to set a limit on how much his players are worth. But that doesn’t mean they don’t need him.