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Tom Brady has been in the NFL for a long time. We have mostly run out of superlatives to convey his greatness, yet his longevity continues to astound us.
As we enter the final week of the 2021 NFL regular season, we find ourselves looking in astonishment at the fact that Tom Brady has been in the league for as long as some of the young quarterbacks have been alive. And not only has he been in the league, he has been the best player in the league throughout his career.
We decided to compare the 2021 NFL draft class of quarterbacks to put Tom Brady's career into perspective. There were a total of 10 quarterbacks selected in the 2021 NFL draft. For the purposes of this article, we are not looking at anyone selected below the first round of the draft.
We look at each of these players below and how old they were when Tom Brady won the first of his seven Super Bowls on 3 February 2002.
2021 NFL QB class as compared to Tom Brady
#1 - Trevor Lawrence, Pick 1, Jacksonville Jaguars
Trevor Lawrence was the number 1 pick in the last NFL draft and is widely considered to be a once-in-a-generation talent. However, he struggled this season as the Jacksonville Jaguars ended up with the worst record in the division going into the final week of the 2021 NFL season.
He will be hoping that he can ignore this season and focus on winning next season. If he needs any inspiration, he just needs to look at Tom Brady and how he built his career when the opportunity came. Trevor Lawrence was born on October 6th, 1999 and was just two years old when Tom Brady won his first Super Bowl.
#2 - Zach Wilson, Pick 2, New York Jets
Tom Brady and Zach Wilson share a birthday. Both were born on August 3rd. The difference in their age is 22 years, with Tom Brady currently exactly double the age of Wilson. When they faced each other last week, it was the biggest difference in age of starting quarterbacks in the league.
Zach Wilson was also born in 1999, and therefore he was just two years old when Tom Brady hoisted the Lombardi Trophy aloft for the first time.
Tom Brady towers over the 2021 NFL QB class
#3 - Trey Lance, Pick 3, San Francisco 49ers
Next up on our list in comparison to Tom Brady, the oldest quarterback in the league, is Trey Lance, the youngest quarterback on this list. Trey Lance was selected by the San Francisco 49ers, a team that Tom Brady grew up supporting and initially wanted to return to once he knew that his time with the New England Patriots was over. But they chose to stick with Jimmy Garoppolo and have now had to draft Trey Lance to plug in the whole system.
The difference between their age is staggering. Trey Lance was born on May 9th, 2000. So when Tom Brady won his first Super Bowl ring, Trey Lance had not even turned two. Therefore, a better way to frame it is to say that Trey Lance was still only one year old at that time.
#4 - Justin Fields, Pick 11, Chicago Bears
After the first three picks went to quarterbacks, we had to wait some time before the Chicago Bears picked another quarterback in Justin Fields. Now Justin Fields should not feel too hard done by the situation; he only needs to look at Tom Brady to realize that is not where you were picked that matters but where you end up.
Tom Brady began his career in greatness with his first Super Bowl win when Justin Fields was just two years old. Justin Fields was born on March 5th, 1999, which meant that he would have turned three years old just a month after Tom Brady's first championship win.
#5 - Mac Jones, Pick 15, New England Patriots
Whatever happens going forward, Mac Jones' destiny is tied fully to that of Tom Brady since he replaced him as the franchise quarterback in New England. The comparisons will be obvious and relentless and it will be up to Mac Jones to handle the pressure.
In that regard, Mac Jones can definitely look at Tom Brady's career for inspiration. Tom Brady was never the starter for the New England Patriots and only got an opportunity that he took with both hands. It would culminate in the Super Bowl victory in 2002, when Mac Jones was merely three years old, having been born on September 5th, 1998.
