FOXBORO -- When Malcolm Butler heard he had been named to the Pro Bowl, he admitted he was surprised. In his mind, he wasn't sure he had done enough to earn the honor.
"I don't know," he said. "I guess my standards are real high."
Butler's road from reserve corner, to Super Bowl hero, to No. 1 cover man in the Patriots secondary has not been without its share of speedbumps. He gave up over 100 yards receiving and a touchdown to Pittsburgh's Antonio Brown in Week 1. In his next four games, he gave up three more touchdowns in coverage. Against the Broncos in Week 12, while primarliy locked on Emmanuel Sanders, he allowed five catches on six targets for 89 yards in his team's first loss of the season.
Butler has been hard on himself after games when he has allowed plays he believes he should have made, but it's that belief in his own ability that has helped to make him a Pro Bowler, Patriots coach Bill Belichick explained on Wednesday.
"I’d say it’s been like that all year," Belichick said. "He’s humble, works hard, tries to get better, makes mistakes. There are a lot of things he can do better, but he works hard to get them better, and he corrects them, and I think everybody that’s on our team or around our team respects that.
"He doesn’t have all the answers, tries hard, plays with a good level of confidence, which is good for his position -- I don’t think that’s a bad thing at all -- and he’s gotten better so we all respect that."
Butler effectively shut down Redskins wideout DeSean Jackson in Week 9. Against Odell Beckham Jr. in Week 10 -- aside from a long touchdown that safety Devin McCourty admitted was in part the result of a breakdown on his end -- Butler held the Giants star to just two more catches for five yards.
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While fellow corner Logan Ryan has been the choice to match up with bigger, stronger receivers down the field, it's Butler who has matched up with some of the most explosive athletes in the league and held his own.
Pro Football Focus has tagged Butler with the eighth best coverage grade of any corner in the league this season -- better than players like Seattle's Richard Sherman, Denver's Aqib Talib and Chris Harris and New York's Darrelle Revis. The site has also listed Butler as tied for second among corners in passes defensed with 13, behind only Chiefs rookie Marcus Peters (17).
Earlier this week, Jets coach Todd Bowles called Butler "probably one of the best in the league" at his position, and there are others who feel the same way. If they didn't, Butler wouldn't have received the Pro Bowl nod, which was handed down after votes were tallied from players, coaches and fans.
"It's a great honor," Butler said. "I really appreciate the fans, coaches and players. It's a lot of players in this league that deserve to be on there -- a lot of players in this locker room that deserve to be on there -- but I'm blessed to have the opportunity. Cherish the moment and just keep moving forward."
When asked about the seven Patriots who were named to the Pro Bowl, Belichick pointed out on Wednesday that all seven were "homegrown." They came into the league as Patriots, and developed into standout players while with the franchise.
Though the team has brought aboard talented athletes in the past who needed to significantly fine-tune their games before turning into Pro Bowlers, few have made the leap that Butler has from the time he left his college program.
"Malcolm has come a long way on and off the field, as a professional, as a professional football player," Belichick said. "He’s worked really hard at it, and I think everybody respects him for it. He didn’t come from some big Division I program, big Heisman Trophy winner or anything like that."
That Butler has gone from an unpolished product of Division 2 West Alabama to where he is now is a credit to himself as well as the organization that has brought him along.
Belichick lauded cornerbacks coach Josh Boyer for his work with this year's relatively inexperienced group, and Butler noted that Boyer's demanding approach has paid dividends.
"Even when you do good, he's still putting that pressure on you," Butler said. "He sets the standards real high. He wants you to do everything right. He's gonna be a pain in the butt sometimes, but that's why we're here right now. Coach does a good job of getting all of us ready."
Asked to think back to a year ago, when he was able to listen to music and eat lunch at his locker without having to field questions from reporters, when he was still a relative unknown, Butler reflected on the road he has traveled to earn the label of "Pro Bowler."
"I've grown a lot," Butler said. "Learning week in, week out. Learning from the other players. Learning from experiencing the game. You know, it's all coming together, but there's still more room for improvement."