Fantasy Football 2018: Why Tom Brady is not worth drafting

Tom Brady has been one of the best quarterbacks in all of football for over a decade. Can you still rely on him for your fantasy football team?

The New England Patriots and fantasy football owners have been blessed with the talents of Tom Brady for 17 seasons. He had a 5,000-yard season, a 50-touchdown season, an undefeated regular season and plenty of other amazing stats. After all of that, could this be the season you avoid him for your fantasy team?

Brady played all 16 games last season after playing just 12 in the prior year. He threw 581 times for 4,577 yards, 32 touchdowns and eight interceptions. He had a good receiving corps featuring Rob Gronkowski, Danny Amendola and Brandin Cooks with pass-catching running backs like James White, Rex Burkhead and Dion Lewis.

The team was without Julian Edelman for the season as he suffered a torn ACL. Yet, Brady was able to make it work and put up a great stat line, just like he always does.

More from FanSided

Entering this season, the Patriots’ offense looks very different. Cooks was traded to the Los Angeles Rams. Amendola signed with the Miami Dolphins. Lewis joined the up-and-coming Tennessee Titans. Edelman will miss the first four games with a suspension. And, while you can’t assume injury, Gronk has started all 16 games just once in his career.

A big impact that will go unnoticed to the vast majority is the loss of offensive lineman Nate Solder. He protected Brady’s blind side over the last seven years. That kind of chemistry and timing doesn’t come quickly.

The Patriots tried to add depth with Jordan Matthews but he hasn’t been a beacon of health in his short career. Phillip Dorsett, Malcolm Mitchell, Kenny Britt and Dwayne Allen don’t give much security to the passing game.

Brady will also be 41 years old when this season begins. Tristan H. Cockcroft of ESPN gave the stat that “quarterbacks have made only 51 total starts after turning 41 years old in the history of the league….averaging just 10.02 fantasy points in those 51 starts with only 12 resulting in at least 15 fantasy points.”

Brady has put up great numbers in the past with a sub par receiving group, so it’s not unlikely for him to do it again. However, at his current ADP, I will not take that risk. At this point, Brady’s ESPN ADP is 30.4, 28th overall, just a couple of spots behind Aaron Rodgers.

I don’t believe that with his current pass catchers, or lack thereof, Brady is worth drafting before the fourth round. I’m not saying to not draft Brady at all. If, for some reason, he falls to the sixth or seventh round, then yes, draft him but that’s not going to happen.

Next: Can Derrick Henry finish as an RB1?

Let your league mates draft Brady in Round 3 while you wait and draft Philip Rivers in Round 13. You can stack up on the skill positions and use them as trade bait for the injury-plagued teams.

Home/Fantasy Football