Your well-put point (that I still want to respectfully debate a bit) is that it is unfair to throw around name like Brees or Brady. I actually think it is perfectly fair and a compelling subject to compare Mac stylistically and background-wise to Brees or Brady. Mac is extremely intelligent, hyper-competitive, a super hard worker, has excelled on the absolutely largest stages. Check, check, check, and check, so far, the comparison with Brady and Brees is apt. What qualities separated Brady and Brees as rookies from present day Mac? I would argue it is
natural athleticism.
I know that Mac's combine scores were good, he is much faster than Brady, he was a very good tennis player, etc., etc. I would argue running fast does not equate to athleticism, my own definition would be: "
athleticism is the ability to truly excel in sports". This can be superior hand-eye coordination, footwork, etc. And I would argue that a
really superior athlete has the ability to excel in several sports. And it is in this area as rookies Brady and Brees showed their superior athleticism,
BOTH could have been exceptional professional athletes in sports other than football.
- Brees. In addition to excelling at many sports in high school, he was once the top-ranked youth tennis player in Texas. The next best payer was Former World No. 1 player Andy Roddick CouldBreesHaveBeenaAllTimeTennisGreat .
- Brady: Despite his skinny look at the draft combine, Brady was an absolutely outstanding high school athlete and baseball prospect. Despite his love of Football, former Montreal Expos GM drafted Brady and said he could be a Hall of Fame Professional Baseball Catcher. CouldBradyHaveBeenAHallofFameBaseballCatcher His Serra high school coach Pete Jensen said: “I thought Tommy was a sure thing as a baseball player…even more a sure thing than (fellow Serra High alums) Gregg Jefferies or Barry Bonds, believe it or not” MoreOnBaseballBrady Other QBs drafted as baseball players include Patrick Mahomes, Russell Wilson, John Elway, and Dan Marino. Not a bad group to belong to.
Mac is clearly a late bloomer physically (especially compared to Brees and Brady), so he could still become an excellent athlete in time in a NFL training program. But if you want to put a finger on what separates Mac as a rookie from rookie prospects like Brady and Brees, he isn't in the same league as a natural athlete, at least so far