We have done profiles on athletes for our futures section before, and we know we didn’t have to explain their accolades, but with all due respect to those men, there is only one Tom Brady.

So, maybe you will forgive us if this seems a little brief.

You all know his story. Brady was a steal for the Patriots in the 6th Round of the 2000 Draft, and he took over the starting job early in the following season following an injury to Drew Bledsoe. TB12 did what no other Quarterback did, leading the Patriots to their first Super Bowl win.  Annually, he kept getting better, taking New England to five more titles, and late in his career, he defied the odds by leading Tampa Bay to their second Super Bowl win and a record seventh for Brady.

What couldn’t he do?  Brady rarely made mistakes; whenever they were down, his team was always in it, and countless times, he lifted them up to victory.  Not only does Brady have the most wins by far from any quarterback, but he also needs a U-Haul to transport his trophies.  Look at this list:

7 Super Bowl Rings

5 Super Bowl MVPs

3 AP MVPs

3 PFWA MVPs

1 Bert Bell Award

1 NEA MVP

1 Sporting News Player of the Year

2 AP Offensive Player of the Year Awards

2 PFWA Offensive Player of the Year Awards

2 Sporting News Player of the Year Awards

3 First Team All-Pros

15 Pro Bowls

He also left the gridiron as the all-time leader in Approximate Value (326), Completions (7,753), Attempts (12,050), Passing Yards (89,214), Touchdown Passes (649), Game-Winning Drives (58) and Comebacks (46). 

Brady is not just the GOAT among NFL Quarterbacks; he is the GOAT of the entire history of the league.

Taylor Lewan was the third Offensive Linemen taken in the 2014 Draft (11^th Overall), and he arguably has been more successful than the two (Greg Robinson and Jake Matthews) selected ahead of him.

Lewan would win the starting job at Left Tackle during his debut season, finishing as an All-Rookie, and he progressively got better, rattling off three consecutive Pro Bowls from 2016 to 2018.  Lewan holds a spot as one of the better Offensive Lineman in franchise history, even if his overall profile is not highly regarded out of Tennessee.

Robbie Gould is one of the most consistent kickers in NFL history. Although he was only a Pro Bowl and All-Pro player once, that doesn’t detract from his impressive career.

Gould was undrafted in 2005 from Penn State, but he signed with the Chicago Bears during the NFL season and won the starting job. He kept this position until he signed with the New York Giants 10 years later. During his time with the Bears, Gould had his Pro Bowl year in 2006, led the NFL in field goals, and was later named one of the 100 Greatest Chicago Bears.

After leaving the Giants, Gould joined San Francisco, where he continued his success as a top kicker. He was first in field goals in 2017 with 39, and in field goal percentage in 2018.

At the time of his retirement, he was eighth all-time in field goals with 447, and tenth in points with 1,961.

Ok.

This should be one of the more interesting debates, though we think it won’t be discussed as much as it should be.

Why would this be? As good as he was, Matt Ryan rarely was in the public eye and never went mainstream like other great Quarterbacks. He quietly went about his business, was drama-free, and did his job well. Ryan is the greatest quarterback in Falcons history but is not even the most beloved or known today.

Statistically, Ryan has all the goods.  At the time of his retirement, he was in the top ten in Passing Yards (62,792), Completions (5,551) and Touchdown Passes (381) and was 14^th all-time in Approximate Value.  Even in this era of inflated pivot stats, these numbers are remarkable! 

Ryan also had the individual accolades.  Taken with the Third Overall Pick in 2008 from Boston College, Ryan won the AP Rookie of the Year Award, was a three-time Pro Bowler and was consistently in the top ten annually in significant passing statistics.  In 2016, Ryan was the consensus MVP, leading the NFL in the major passing categories and was the best Quarterback in the National Football League.  He took the Falcons to Atlanta to the Super Bowl, and they had a chance to beat Tom Brady and the New England Patriots.  At halftime, they were up 28-3, and the legacy of Ryan looked complete, but the Pats overcame that deficit, and Atlanta was denied. 

Had Ryan won the Super Bowl with the Falcons, would we have a debate?  Quarterbacks are judged on how many rings they have, and Ryan has none.  If he falls short, that will be why.