Pro Football Focus: Father Time is catching up with Tom Brady

Pro Football Focus says Father Time is catching up with Tom Brady

Tom Brady signed a two-year, $50 million deal with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers earlier this offseason and immediately took the Bucs to a place they haven’t been in quite some time: Considered a legitimate playoff contender.

While Buccaneer fans remain optimistic about what Tom Brady will bring to the franchise, Pro Football Focus is a bit more skeptical.

The organization released its list of the NFL’s best 50 players for the 2020 season and included Tom Brady at No. 24. This was a major drop-off considering the QB has been inside the top-10 for what seems like forever.

Here’s what Pro Football Focus had to say about Brady and the drop-off in his ranking:

"“Tom Brady’s 2019 was a major drop-off from his previous baseline of play. When you consider his age, the natural reaction is to believe that Father Time is finally catching up with him and gaining an upper hand in that battle,” PFF said. “But the tape shows the root of almost all of his issues — the lack of receiver help. That’s not an issue in Tampa Bay, where the Buccaneers have two receivers on this top-50 list. Brady can still play, though perhaps not quite at his very best level anymore. He is still one of the best quarterbacks in the league.”"

Tom Brady is going to have help like never before

The truth of the matter is that Father Time may be catching up with Tom Brady, but it’s entirely unfair to judge last year’s performance from him and expect that he’s going to have something similar.

PFF takes the stance that Brady is falling victim to Father Time, but that he still is one of the best quarterbacks in the league. If that’s the case, though, we’re going to see big things from the GOAT this season.

Why? He’s going to have more help than ever before.

Brady, with perhaps the worst wide receiver core in the league, still threw for more than 4,000 yards, 24 touchdowns and eight interceptions last season. Now, he’s going to have the talent and skill of guys like Chris Godwin, Mike Evans, Ronald Jones II, O.J. Howard and others at his disposal.

Brady doesn’t have to be an MVP-caliber player for the Buccaneers to have success. He simply has to make good decisions, be himself and allow his play-makers the opportunity to do just that: Make plays.