FOXBOROUGH – You might not remember it, but Mac Jones and Stephon Gilmore were teammates in New England in 2021.

Both Jones and Gilmore played together on the Patriots, but the cornerback never played a game with the quarterback as he dealt with a quad injury (and was looking for a new contract) that kept him off the field until he was traded to the Carolina Panthers in October of that season.

Despite never playing a game with him, Gilmore still left a good mark on Jones.

“I have all the respect in the world for him and how he treated me when I was here young,” Jones said. “Just some of the information he gave me in the training room, just at his locker. He's definitely an all-time dude. Excited to go against him again here.”

Gilmore was one of the game's best corners during his five-year tenure with the Patriots, recording 11 interceptions as he won Defensive Player of the Year in 2019. Even though he's 32 now, Gilmore is still viewed as one of the game's top corner, at least in the eyes of Mac Jones, who'll face his former teammate on Sunday when the Patriots host the Indianapolis Colts.

“He looks great out there,” Jones said of Gilmore. “He's just a great cornerback. Still is. You can tell they’re putting him out there, and he's locking down the guys for the most part. Just covering them one-on-one. Just doing his thing. He's definitely still a premiere cornerback.”

The stats back up Jones' assessment of Gilmore so far this season. Opposing quarterbacks have completed 25 of 46 passes (54.3 completion percentage) for 301 yards with zero touchdowns and an interception when targeting Gilmore so far this season, good for a passer rating of just 65.6.

Gilmore's just one of many standout players on the Colts defense, which ranks ninth overall and seventh in points against in the league. DeForest Buckner and Yannick Kgakoue have led their pass rush while Zaire Franklin and Bobby Okereke have stepped up in Shaq Leonard's absence. With Leonard back now, the Patriots will get a Colts defense that is at near full strength, and Jones knows the challenge they present.

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“I think this is, once again, one of the top defenses in the league,” Mac Jones said. “Great front, great backend, great linebackers. They got the players and obviously it’s a little newer scheme compared to last year, with [defensive coordinator] Gus Bradley, but they’ve obviously done a really good job this year in tackles for loss, pressures, and all that. They’re getting back there to the quarterback, and it’s just a really good defense. We’ve just got to be ready to go.”

Patriots coach Bill Belichick also spoke highly of the Colts' defensive unit on Wednesday.

“Defensively as I said, Ngakoue and Gilmore are additions to an already outstanding group really with [Kenny] Moore [II] and Leonard,” Belichick said. “Franklin's had a lot of production. You see him in the kicking game as well. [Grover] Stewart's playing really well and obviously Buckner is a major force. Really good defensive group.

Coach Bradley has installed his scheme which has always been tough to deal with. There are some similarities to what they did last year. Obviously, it's different with a different coordinator, it's a little different but it's a four-down scheme with a lot of similar principles defensively.”