Passing for 5,000 yards and 50 touchdowns is a feat that many 23-year-olds will never accomplish in the NFL. But Patrick Mahomes did just that in his first year as the starting QB for the Kansas City Chiefs in 2018 which earned him the NFL Most Valuable Player award.
But when comparing his season to Tom Brady’s, who won his sixth championship at the age of 41, not everyone believes Mahomes trumps Brady. That’s at least what former NFL executive Mike Tannebaum thinks.
The former Jets general manager and Dolphins executive vice president of football operations was asked on ESPN’s shows “NFL Live” what was more impressive; Tom Brady at 41-years-old, or Patrick Mahomes at 23-years-old. This is what he had to say.
“For me, it would be Tom Brady. Being in the AFC East for as long as I have, between the Jets and the Dolphins, every year we were like, ‘Wow, this is going to be it for Tom. He’s getting older. This has got to be the year. This has to be the year.’ And it’s remarkable. He’s gotten better,” Tannenbaum said. “He’s so smart. He knows where he’s going with the ball often before the ball’s ever snapped, so it’s hard to get to him because he gets rid of it so quickly.
“It’s really remarkable that he’s actually gotten better in the back half of his career from the first half. Unfortunately, I’ve admired it to my detriment, but he really deserves a lot of credit.”
Last season, Brady completed 65 percent of his passes and threw for 4,300 yards, 29 touchdowns and had 11 interceptions. He helped his team gather an 11-5 record in the regular season, along with New England’s third super bowl win in five years. Brady continues to defy the laws of age, which makes Tannebaum’s claim not so erroneous.
