Watch Tom Brady build his perfect quarterback: Mahomes, Rodgers...

Even after officially retiring in 2022, Tom Brady remains deeply connected to the NFL. The 48-year-old former quarterback – widely regarded as the greatest of all time with seven rings – now divides his time between his role as part of the Las Vegas Raiders’ ownership group and his work as a FOX analyst, where he serves as the network’s marquee voice for the games it broadcasts. His command of the sport seems endless, and his ease with television and new media has been striking. Brady is also highly active on social media and runs a YouTube channel with more than 400,000 subscribers, with several of his videos surpassing a million views.

In his latest upload, he sets out to build what he considers the perfect quarterback, choosing attributes from past and present players while leaving himself out. Filming at his home in Florida, he begins with the legs. For agility he chooses Steve Young, the San Francisco 49ers legend who won three Super Bowls between the 1980s and 1990s. “He was the hardest guy to tackle. His footwork and his power as a runner were incredible. He had so much ability – his feet were ridiculous,” he said. He then opts for the speed of Lamar Jackson, the current leader of the Baltimore Ravens. “What he does in the open field is unbelievable. I’ve seen him make moves nobody else has made, and I’ve seen a lot of quarterbacks.”

Next comes the core traits – strength, durability and the ability to absorb hits. “I’m going with the guy who’s Iron Man: Brett Favre. The way he played and never missed games was insane. His toughness taking hits… that was in the old days of football, when they’d let you hit the quarterback,” he said of the Green Bay Packers great. Andrew Luck, the former Indianapolis Colts standout who retired unexpectedly last decade, is Brady’s pick for pocket presence, or the ability to evade sacks. “I don’t know who number one is – it’s hard to say – but Andrew Luck played like a running back. He’d get out of plays by using his strength to shrug off huge defenders and pick up yards.”

Because he can’t repeat a quarterback, Brady doesn’t select Favre for arm strength. Instead, he goes with his successor in Green Bay. “Aaron Rodgers could get the ball from his fingers to a receiver’s chest faster than anybody. In the Super Bowl he made a throw I’ve watched 50 times – one of the most unbelievable I’ve ever seen,” he said. One of his toughest rivals, Drew Brees, earns his pick for accuracy. “He did so many things with just the flick of a wrist.” Another longtime adversary, Peyton Manning, is Brady’s choice for reading defenses before the snap. “That’s easy – he was a chess master in this sport. He worked incredibly hard all week to prepare. I don’t think people appreciate what goes from the shoulders to the head in a quarterback.”

To finish, the seven-time Super Bowl winner admits his last selection might be “controversial, though it shouldn’t be,” as he picks Patrick Mahomes for vision – seeing the entire field and reading how plays develop. “A lot of guys do it well, but Mahomes’s ability to see the whole field, even deep… he’s the one with the most poison in the pocket,” Brady said, closing with a touch of swagger. “I don’t see this quarterback breaking my records.”

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