Tom Brady did not have to think hard to determine which current NFL quarterback is most like him, as he selected a former foe who he has shown massive respect to in previous instances – Patrick Mahomes.
Some of the greatest battles for Mahomes during his rise to superstardom came against Brady, including the 2018 AFC Championship Game, the first of the current streak of seven straight appearances in that playoff contest for the Kansas City Chiefs.
Brady and Mahomes also faced off in the pandemic-era Super Bowl in February 2021, with the then-Buccaneers quarterback winning his seventh and final ring.
In retirement, Brady has given Mahomes plenty of kudos, with his most recent chat being no exception.
‘It’s always that line about who wants to win versus who’s willing to do whatever it takes to win,’ Brady said to Joel Klatt. ‘Everyone wants to win, but what are the habits and the daily habits and the actionable things you need to do every day to put your team in a position to win?’
‘So Patrick Mahomes, to me, is the one that does that the most often because who he is, obviously his physical talent, how he understands what he needs to do offensively, and he brings a consistent winning attitude to work every single day. In the biggest moments you can depend on him the most. That’s clear.’
Legendary quarterback Tom Brady named Patrick Mahomes as the signal caller most like him
Mahomes has won three Super Bowls and appeared in five championship games in his career
Brady did mention that others were close to getting to a place where he could consider them on his career path, without mentioning specific names, but no one matched Mahomes’ resume.
‘There’s other guys that are still developing, and they need to prove it before, in my mind, I can say, “Oh yeah, he’s done it.” Well, obviously, he hasn’t done it yet,’ Brady said.
‘They’ve all shown flashes of amazing things. They’re all great players. All of them can make tremendous plays. At some point, they need to take the next step and take, in my mind, more ownership of what they’re doing, in terms of the organizational level, to do more things to empower more people, to get more people on that train or that bus with you to head in the direction you want to go.’
Mahomes is currently four Super Bowl rings and five appearances in the NFL’s championship game behind Brady, with arguably half his career behind him.
The Chiefs will be favored to make a splash again this season after being denied a three-peat by the Philadelphia Eagles several months ago.
Brady will have a front row seat to watch Mahomes, not only as a minority owner of a division rival, the Las Vegas Raiders, but also as a color commentator for Fox Sports.
