Buccaneers' Tom Brady named 'overvalued' fantasy football QB

Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady celebrated his 44th birthday in August 2021 and then went on to complete one of the greatest seasons ever produced by a professional athlete of his age in any sport. Per ESPN stats, Brady finished the campaign first among all signal-callers with 5,316 passing yards, 485 completions, 719 attempts and 43 touchdowns through the air. 

However, Brady has since experienced anything but a normal offseason. He retired for roughly six weeks, had "best friend" and future Hall of Fame tight end Rob Gronkowski legitimately ride off into the sunset (allegedly), was linked with the Miami Dolphins in stories that turned into somewhat of a scandal, and recently enjoyed an 11-day training-camp break away from the Buccaneers that may have included filming a segment for a Fox television show. 

Perhaps just as noteworthy, offensive guru Bruce Arians stepped down as Buccaneers head coach this past spring and was replaced by promoted defensive coordinator Todd Bowles. 

All things being equal, it's easy to understand why The Athletic's KC Joyner wrote for a piece published Friday that Brady is an "overvalued" quarterback as it pertains to fantasy football drafts. 

"Brady and Todd Bowles are on the same page about not wanting to throw the ball as often this year," Joyner pointed out. "That may only lead to a decline of 4-5 passes per game, but that would be a drop-off of 68-85 throws over a 17-game campaign and lower Brady’s PPG pace by at least 10 percent.

"Throwing less frequently will also help ameliorate the loss of Rob Gronkowski, the potential injury rust of Chris Godwin (whenever he returns) and prevent Brady from having to rely too heavily on the questionable durability of Julio Jones. Add these factors up and Brady should be near the bottom of an incredibly competitive QB1 tier instead of vying for mid-tier QB1 status." 

During Brady's curious August hiatus, multiple individuals questioned the seven-time Super Bowl champion's dedication to the cause and to winning with the 2022 Buccaneers. If Brady isn't all-in for the upcoming campaign, he may want to avoid taking what he deems to be unnecessary hits. An easy way for him to accomplish that goal is to drop back for passes fewer times than he did last season, which would negatively impact fantasy football owners who used a first-round pick to land the G.O.A.T. this summer.