Tom Brady delivers advice to Bryce Young, other top QBs

Sep 20, 2020; Tampa, Florida, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady (12) in the second quarter against the Carolina Panthers at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

The top quarterbacks in the 2023 NFL Draft received some valuable advice this week.

Bryce Young, CJ Stroud, Anthony Richardson and Will Levis had an opportunity to sit down with Tom Brady on Thursday at the annual NFL Players Association Rookie Premiere. The young quarterbacks attended a luncheon and sat across from Brady, Fanatics CEO Michael Rubin and rapper Travis Scott. In a clip that was shared by Peter Schrager, Brady downplayed the importance of where each player was drafted.

“Going in the second round — in the end, that’s not that big of a deal,” Brady said. “Going first overall — in the end, that’s not a big deal. It’s great. You’ve got an opportunity. You’re probably gonna be paid more for a time period, but I was drafted 199th and I just outlasted everybody.

“There’s another me back there, right? So how do I keep my edge on everybody? I had to keep working. I didn’t go, ‘Hey I’m good. I won three Super Bowls, I’m good.'”

Most analysts expected Levis to go in the top five. The former Kentucky star slipped all the way to the second round. Brady knows more than anyone that draft position doesn’t matter.

In a separate clip, Brady told the quarterbacks that the only thing they can do when things go wrong is “work harder.”

“Defeats can’t make you work less hard. I think that’s the point,” Brady said. “When s— hits the fan, you got to change the energy. You got to put more into it, never less into it.”

The message from Brady was predictable, but it means a lot more coming from a seven-time Super Bowl champion. The best players are masters at finding ways to stay motivated. Young may have been the first overall pick, but there have been plenty of questions about him that he should be anxious to answer.

Of Brady’s many unmatched skills, the most important may have been his ability to keep the chip on his shoulder. That is what he was trying to convey to the next generation of quarterbacks.