No, it really might be a GOAT

On the day of Super Bowl LV before the game got under way, I noted this about Tom Brady. This was, admittedly, based on not much more than a gut feeling I got about his performance over his career, as well as my perceptions of him throughout his time in the NFL. But I needed to know - exactly how good had Brady been during that five years when he could have been “retired” and waiting to get voted into the HOF? What did he do with himself instead of putting on the production of the triumphant Hall of Famer returning to play for one more ring? What did he do actually playing football in those five years?

If you look at the more vital passing statistics including attempts (Att), completions (Cmp), passing yards (Yds), touchdowns (TD), and interceptions (Int), it becomes pretty clear how Brady spent his time. His averages for the five seasons between 2015-2019 outpaced what the NFL averaged in each of those seasons in 4 out of 5 of those categories. Brady’s averages over that span, against the league:

• Rank 3rd in Attempts
• Rank 1st in Completions
• Rank 1st in Yards
• Rank 1st in Touchdowns
• Rank 1st in Interceptions

So good old #12’s performance over those years was essentially a clinic for the league, on average. But how does he stack up against individual players? By looking at how his stats rank, as a percentile, against all other QBs gives a pretty good idea that he was generally at least above average.¹ Indeed, most of his stats put him in at least near the 65th percentile. So while not always in a spot to win, place, or show, you would have been wise to grab him for your fantasy league nonetheless.

Incidentally, he also won a couple of Super Bowls in that span for good measure…and then, with another career year this past season, with a different team, in a different conference, he won another.