Tom Brady has watched a lot of football since he decided to walk away from his legendary playing career more than two years ago, and the seven-time Super Bowl champion has identified what he views as a troubling trend with quarterbacks.
During an interview with Cris Collinsworth for Pro Football Focus that was released on Sunday, Brady was asked if the NFL is experiencing “an evolution” at the quarterback position with players who are more two-dimensional like Lamar Jackson, Josh Allen, Patrick Mahomes and Jalen Hurts.
Brady said he feels there has been a shift toward emphasizing physical attributes more than mental attributes.
“I don’t believe the quarterback position is mentally as developed as it was when I entered the league,” Brady said. “There was a premium on understanding defenses, on understanding matchups, on pre-snap reads, getting your team in and out of the right play. I think you better have a mental advantage on the field, and I think sometimes that’s more important than the physical advantage. Did I wish I could run? Of course I wished I could have run.”
Brady added that he believes NFL rule changes have been the catalyst behind the so-called evolution of the quarterback position.
“I think what’s happened is, with the rule changes in the NFL that have essentially taken away forceable contact to a ball carrier, certainly the quarterback, outside of the pocket, even though the quarterback can protect himself, offensive coordinators have those plays in their playbook and they’re running them more than they’ve ever run them before,” Brady said. “It’s forcing a smaller defensive player to try to track that player down. Do I think that’s good for the longevity of a quarterback? I think it’s terrible for the longevity of a quarterback. Do I think that’s exciting? It’s certainly very exciting, and it’s fun to watch.”
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