Poor build, skinny, lacks great physical stature and strength. System-type player who can get exposed if forced to ad lib, gets knocked down easily.
Today, when we think of Tom Brady, we think of greatness. We think of the greatest player to ever put on pads and a helmet. The resumé speaks for itself: 7x Super Bowl Champion, 5x Super Bowl MVP and 3x Regular Season MVP.
However, over 20 years ago, Tom Brady was hardly a hot prospect. The underwhelming pre-draft report above shows why he was able to sink all the way down to the 6th round of the 2000 NFL Draft, going as the 199th pick to New England Patriots. We can all agree that the scouts may have been a little off base with their assessment here. Nevertheless, coming out of Michigan, Brady really just wasn’t anything special. At certain points, even he could not have predicted the legendary career that followed.
As a junior and senior at Michigan in the late 90s, exploring careers outside of football, Brady spent his summers as a 21-year-old intern at Merrill Lynch. His boss, Oliver Owens, recalls a conversation telling Brady what a bright future in finance he could have. Owens let Brady know that he had the tools to have an extremely long and successful career in finance. It was a genuine possibility that TB12 could have ended up leading meetings in the boardroom instead of calling plays out on the field! Luckily, Brady told him that he wanted to give the professional football thing a try. 7 Super Bowls later, I think he made the right decision.
Of course, it can’t be overlooked that Brady is the probably the biggest surprise in NFL Draft History. As his 22nd season commences, he continues to surprise us with what he can still do. It begs the question of how a skinny kid with an unexceptional arm went on to become the greatest player to ever pick up a football.
So, what separates Tom Brady? It comes down to 3 things.
1. Leadership
Whether you love or hate Tom Brady, every voice around the NFL would agree that no-one prepares harder, smarter and better for a game than he does. So, if you’re a player on a Brady-led team, seeing your leader push himself to the physical limits, study every inch of the opponent’s defence, and earn it every day on the practise field, of course you are going to elevate your game. If you want to catch balls from the greatest to ever do it, you better be on his level, or he just won’t throw it to you! Brady’s ability to get the best of those around him is a testament to his ability to lead by example and that is why he is able to take Instagram pictures with 7 rings on his fingers!
2. Game Smarts
Let’s be honest. Tom Brady is not exactly a physical freak of nature, especially compared to his current competition. He can’t throw the ball as powerfully as Josh Allen. He can’t throw sidearm cannons while diving in mid-air like Patrick Mahomes. And, with a pretty appalling 5.28 40-yard dash, he definitely cannot run half as fast as the likes of Lamar Jackson. However, Brady continues to show that a strong enough mental game can make up for such physical deficits. An unmatched pocket presence, uncanny field vision and a truly deep understanding of the game have allowed Brady to dominate and win games for an unprecedented time period, despite lacking the physical tools that his competitors rely on.
3. Competitive Greatness
In a trailer for Brady’s upcoming ESPN docuseries, I think Wes Welker, teammate of Brady for 5 years, said it best: ‘he had one goal in mind: go and win Super Bowls’. And it’s become clear that Tom Brady will stop at nothing to achieve this goal. It’s not uncommon for NFL players to spend at least a portion of the offseason relaxing, partying, and enjoying all the things that come with being an NFL star! Tom Brady takes his off seasons a little differently. At a dinner party in March, shortly after the end of a gruelling NFL season, Michael Strahan, NFL Hall of Famer, offers Tom Brady a cocktail at a dinner party. Brady says that he’s fine, passes on the drink and naturally Strahan wants to know why. Brady tells him that he’s in training. He’s in training for the next season already, over half a year away. Tom Brady’s desire to win is not something that can just be turned on and off. It’s this gripping desire that fuels such a relentless, never-ending pursuit of success. Brady says it regularly: ‘what’s my favourite ring? The next one’. He’s always striving for something more. He’s always striving to be better than he was yesterday. That competitive greatness is why TB12 has truly had the career of a champion.
Moving into the rest of 2021 NFL season, Brady’s 22nd season in the League, I think there’s one thing that we all need to do. We need to appreciate what we are seeing. We are truly witnessing greatness in its truest form, and if you don’t take a moment to step back and appreciate it, you will regret it.
Because before you know it, the opening Sunday of an NFL season will come. The world will turn on the TVs. And for the first time in over 20 years, we won’t see the fabled no 12 Brady jersey, leading his team out onto the field, burning with passion, ready to win an NFL game.
It will be the end of an era, and a truly sad day for all fans. The greatest player to ever play the game will have moved on and closed an unforgettable chapter of the game’s history: Tom Brady’s Domination.
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