Tom Brady and Shedeur Sanders. One’s arguably the greatest of all time, and the other is a rookie who hasn’t even started a game. In fact, you, the reader, have the same amount of passing yards and touchdowns in the NFL as Sanders.

So why are we bothering to compare one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time to a rookie who’s proved nothing? Well, they’ve had very similar starts to their careers, and if Sanders gets his chance, he could be this year’s version of Tom Brady.

Tom Brady’s beginning

Tom Brady entered the NFL as an afterthought. He was selected in the sixth round of the 2000 NFL Draft by the New England Patriots, who already had former first overall pick and future Patriots Hall of Famer, Drew Bledsoe, under center. Brady was the Patriots’ fourth-string quarterback in 2000, but quickly climbed the depth chart and became Bledsoe’s backup in 2001.

In the second game of the season, the Patriots trailed the New York Jets by seven in the fourth quarter. Bledsoe took off to try and pick up the first down, but was leveled by Mo Lewis and suffered a near-fatal internal bleeding injury, which opened the door for Brady to step in. He couldn’t complete the comeback, but little did anyone know this was the start of a new era in New England.

After that game, Brady and the Patriots went on an absolute heater, winning 11 games in the regular season and earning the two-seed in the AFC. They received a first-round bye and hosted the Oakland Raiders in the Divisional Round, who they knocked off, 16-13. Brady suffered an injury in the AFC Championship against the Pittsburgh Steelers, which caused Bledsoe to replace him, but the Pats were still able to advance to the Super Bowl.

With a week off before the big game, Brady’s leg healed, and he was able to play against the Rams in New Orleans. He led the way with 145 passing yards and a touchdown, and in his first season as a starter, Brady won the first of his seven Super Bowls.

Brady went from a fourth-stringer who nobody ever thought would start a game in the NFL to Super Bowl Champion in the matter of two years. That just goes to show, it doesn’t matter what anyone thinks of you, and that’s the mentality that Shedeur Sanders needs to have.

Why Shedeur Sanders could be this year’s Tom Brady

While Tom Brady entered the league as an unknown commodity to most fans, Shedeur Sanders entered the league with a boatload of hype. He’s the son of NFL Hall of Famer Deion Sanders and was one of the most talked-about prospects in the 2025 draft class. Despite the hype the media brought, Sanders slid all the way to the fifth round of the draft before he was selected by the Cleveland Browns, who had just selected Oregon QB Dillon Gabriel just a couple of rounds prior.

While their introductions to the league couldn’t have been more different, Sanders finds himself in a very similar position to Brady. He’s the last quarterback on the depth chart, and there’s no clear path forward. Even with Joe Flacco out, the Browns opted to go with Gabriel over him, but could he still become this year’s Brady?

There’s a very real chance Shedeur gets a chance to play this year. Joe Flacco is obviously not a long-term solution for the Browns, so even when he’s healthy, there’s a good chance he’s no longer the starter by midseason. The Browns obviously prefer Gabriel to Sanders, but if Gabriel goes down or plays a few games and proves he’s not the answer, there’s only one other person the Browns could call on, and that’s Sanders.

A lot of things would have to go his way for Sanders to get an opportunity to start, but then again, it did for Brady. If you watch Sanders’ tape and dive into the stats, it’s incredibly easy to see, if he gets his chance, why he could be this year’s Brady.

Why Shedeur Sanders’ game could translate to the NFL level

There are a ton of people on the internet who take every chance they get to hate on Shedeur Sanders. Can he be a bit cocky at times? Absolutely, but who doesn’t want a quarterback who’s confident in himself? If you really look at his game, you’ll see why it could easily translate to the NFL level.

No, Sanders doesn’t have a rocket for an arm or 4.40-speed, but he is deadly accurate. In his final season at Colorado, Sanders completed 74.0 percent of his passes, and he wasn’t just a one-trick pony. Per PFF, from 1-9 yards, Sanders completed 89.4 percent of his passes, which ranked 3rd out of 239 quarterbacks with 10+ attempts. From 10-19 yards, Sanders connected on 68.8 percent of his throws, which ranked 11th in the country. And from 20+ yards, he completed 47.1 percent of his passes, which was 21st.

Just look at his passing chart from last season, and you’ll see just how good he was throwing to every single area on the field.

In the NFL, you have to be incredibly accurate. You can get away with some bad balls here and there in college, but once you get to the pros, the windows get much tighter, and you have to be able to put a ball on a rope and put it exactly where it needs to be.

Sanders has proven he can do just that. Love him or hate him, you have to admit the kid can play football, and he deserves an opportunity to show that at the highest level. If/when he gets his opportunity, he’s going to have the chance to prove a ton of people wrong.

Brady’s mentorship of Sanders

Tom Brady has been somewhat of a mentor to Shedeur Sanders since he entered the league. After Sanders’ slide in the draft, Brady was quick to reach out to him and give him some words of encouragement, because he knows what it’s like to feel unwanted.

“I actually texted Shedeur because I know him very well,” Brady said on the “IMPAULSIVE” podcast. “And I said, ‘Dude, like whatever happens, wherever you go, that’s your first day. Day 2 matters more than the draft.’ I was 199. So, who can speak on it better than me? Like what that really means. Use it as motivation, you’re going to get your chances, go take advantage of it.”

It’s hard to think that Brady doesn’t see a bit of himself in Sanders. They both fell in the draft and went to a place where there probably won’t be a whole lot of in-game opportunities to show off their skills. If he can keep his head on right and be patient, his opportunity is going to come, and Sanders needs to be ready when it does.