New England Patriots legend Tom Brady isn’t still putting on his pads on NFL Sundays anymore, but his status as one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time is undeniable, or so people thought. Now, one prominent ESPN analyst is saying that Brady, and also Peyton Manning, for that matter, isn’t a generational talent.
“I think John Elway was a generational talent. I think Patrick Mahomes is a generational talent,” Ryan Clark said, according to Awful Announcing. “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.”
It’s a shocking thing for someone to say, especially considering Clark played against both as a former defensive back in the NFL himself.
Fans reacted to Clark on social media.
“People in the comments are totally missing the point. They were not generational talents coming out of college whatsoever. You don’t judge generational talent by what they did over a long NFL career. The players being called “generational talents” are the ones being drafted or still in college and getting that label. You don’t draft a generational talent in the 6th round,” one fan wrote on Twitter.
“He shouldn’t have included Peyton. From day 1 of recruitment for college, Peyton was seen as a generational talent. Brady had to fight and prove it. Brees want to Purdue. I was at Smitty’s in Oxford when he was heckled as a HS senior for picking UT. Peyton was always, that guy,” someone else added.
“I can see the argument against Brady and Brees, sure. Fine, whatever. But to say that Peyton Manning wasn’t a generational talent completely invalidates the rest of your opinion. Manning was one of the most sought after recruits in the nation, Heisman runner-up, and went #1 overall in the NFL draft lol. If that’s not a generational talent, I’m not sure anything else is,” one fan added
Even in today’s “hot take” era of sports media, Clark’s statement is a shocking one.
About Qwame Skinner
Qwame Skinner has loved both writing and sports his entire life. In addition to his sports coverage at Comeback Media, Qwame writes novels, and his debut; The First Casualty, an adult fantasy, is out now.