Patriots
“I don’t think Tom Brady, I don’t think Drew Brees, I don’t think Peyton Manning are generational talents.”
Tom Brady’s resume speaks for itself.
Over 23 seasons in the NFL, the former Patriots QB left an indelible mark on football — winning seven Super Bowl titles to go along with three MVP trophies, five Super Bowl MVP honors, and numerous other league records.
But for all of Brady’s accomplishments, former NFL safety and current ESPN pundit Ryan Clark believes that the future Hall of Famer wasn’t exactly a can’t-miss talent on the gridiron.
During Thursday’s taping of ESPN’s “First Take”, a panel featuring Clark, former NFL QB Dan Orlovsky, and ESPN personality Stephen A. Smith debated Texas QB Arch Manning’s viability as as a “generational” talent after a lackluster debut against Ohio State on Saturday (17-for-30, 170 yards).
But while debating Manning’s potential as a can’t-miss prospect in the collegiate ranks, Clark went one step further when discussing the limited pool of “generational” QBs over the years — Brady included.
“I think John Elway was a generational talent. I think Patrick Mahomes is a generational talent,” Clark said. “I don’t think Tom Brady, I don’t think Drew Brees, I don’t think Peyton Manning are generational talents. I think Andrew Luck ended up being a generational talent. I don’t think there’s a ton of them out there.”
Clark’s comments brought upon an immediate pushback from both Orlovsky and Smith.
“But so then what, how does one, in your eyes, be a generational talent?” Orlovsky asked Clark. “Because there’s not a lot of difference.”
“Production,” Smith interjected. “Let me chime in here, because I love the argument back and forth between y’all. I ain’t trying to get in the way of it, but here’s the reality. The operative word here is, is. Do you believe Arch Manning is a generational talent? He could be, but he’s not. Not yet. What have you seen to say that he is? There’s no evidence.”
If Clark is focusing on Brady’s unassuming road to stardom in the NFL, his take on Brady does offer up a bit more clarity.
Brady was not exactly a “generational” prospect during his collegiate career at Michigan — as validated by the fact that he was the 199th pick in the 2000 NFL Draft.
But by that same token, Clark’s argument doesn’t hold up when also categorizing Peyton Manning as another QB who wasn’t a “generational” talent.
Prior to the hype that Andrew Luck generated at Stanford, Peyton Manning was arguably the most anticipated QB prospect since Elway — a sentiment that was validated by Manning winning numerous accolades like the Maxwell Award, Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award, SEC Player of the Year Award, and other trophies during his time at the University of Tennessee.
Even if Brady or Manning may not fit Clark’s criteria as a “generational” player, their track record in the NFL says otherwise.
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