Tom Brady captured his sixth Lombardi Trophy last season at the age of 41. He’s showing no signs of slowing down, but one ESPN insider has the New England Patriots quarterback on a list of fantasy quarterbacks he hates for 2019.
Matthew Berry released the list Tuesday afternoon, specifying it wasn’t necessarily about the players, but more so how they’re going to perform compared to their preseason fantasy rankings. Regardless, Brady somehow sat atop Berry’s list of quarterbacks he hates for the upcoming season.
Baker Mayfield, Carson Wentz and Kyler Murray all are quarterbacks Berry loves, so why did Brady end up on the wrong list?
“He was only the 18th-best QB in fantasy last year on a points-per-game basis, and he finished the season without multiple touchdown passes in six of the final nine games, as the Patriots went more run-heavy,” Berry wrote. “New England was fifth in rush percentage and ninth in red zone rush percentage last season. Think about the playoffs. I mean, that worked out for them, right? They won it all … again. Well, of the 12 playoff teams last season, the Patriots were last in passing rate (53.6%); and in those three postseason games, Brady had just two touchdown passes and three interceptions on 125 attempts. So why go away from a formula that worked so well? Especially considering the retirement of Rob Gronkowski.”
OK — Berry makes some fair points from a fantasy perspective.
It also should be noted that Berry began the Brady portion of his article by praising the “GOAT” — as he called the 42-year-old — adding he “is truly the greatest to play the position.”
Drew Brees and Russell Wilson joined Brady as the other two quarterbacks Berry hates in 2019 for similar reasons. New Orleans has a high-flying offense, but its high volume of red zone rushing attempts presents a good argument.
Despite this review, we still don’t think Patriots fans will hesitate at drafting Brady over the next few weeks.
