Tom Brady Names His Successor for Best Quarterback in the NFL

The greatest quarterback of all time has offered his opinion on who the greatest quarterback is right now.

On the most recent episode of his 'Let's Go Podcast', Tom Brady, joined by his co-host Jim Gray, and guest, Shaquille O'Neal, was asked which NFL quarterback is destined to succeed him as the greatest in the game. 

To the surprise of, well, no one... Brady immediately mentioned Kansas City Chiefs quarterback, Patrick Mahomes.

"Good question. I think when I'm looking at guys in pro football, quarterbacks, Patrick's the one that really stands out... They've done a great job since he's really taken over. And he's got a really great coach, like I was fortunate [to have], like you were fortunate [to have] that helps you and is there for you when things are going good and not good. Gives you the humble pie when things are going good and knows how to pick you up when things aren't good."

Although Brady didn't exactly use the question as an opportunity to praise Mahomes for his incredible and unique skillset on the football field, the fact that he was so quick to identify Mahomes as the guy should be enough of a compliment for the Chiefs' quarterback to sleep easy at night, knowing he has received this acknowledgment from the GOAT. 

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But in typical Brady fashion, he used the opportunity to reflect more on how important consistency and longevity are in order to stay on top. 

"It's going to be interesting. People have to do it for a long time, I did it for a long time. When I look at my career, I was able to do it every single year for basically every single game. I missed twice: once when I got suspended for four games and once when I tore my ACL on a hit. Other than that, I showed up every week. Now every game wasn't perfect, but every game was pretty good. Most of the time, I never put our team in a position to lose, and there's very few guys like that that I'm watching over and over and over.

In turn, Brady felt compelled to cast a slight shadow of doubt on Mahomes aspirations to maintain his level of play for as long as Brady did, simply because of how the sport, and specifically the quarterback position, have changed over time.

"I think, unfortunately, the way the game's going, a lot of the guys are running the ball a lot more and it just makes for a shorter career. They've loosened the rules up a little bit, we've talked about this a few times on the show, but some of the rules in regard to hitting the quarterback, so now it's allowing quarterbacks to run more. But running quarterbacks don't last that long. I don't know who can play 21 years. I really don't. I know what it took, and it took a lot."

Although the conversation focused more on an analysis of how important coaching, consistency, and longevity are in order to remain the best quarterback in the league, there's no denying that Tom Brady's most recent comments on his podcast suggest that the greatest quarterback of all time believes that Kansas City Chiefs' quarterback, Patrick Mahomes, is the greatest quarterback right now.

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