2018 Patriots positional snapshot: Ageless Tom Brady continues to refine his game

With the Patriots’ 2018 season done, we’re going to take a look back at the team by position, and provide a few thoughts as to what they might need at that spot moving forward. So far, we’ve looked at the wide receivers, running backs, tight ends and offensive line. Now, it’s the quarterback.


2018 depth chart: Tom Brady (365-570 4,355 yards, 29 TDs, 11 INTs), Brian Hoyer (1-2, 7 yards), Danny Etling (practice squad)

Contract status: Brady (signed through 2019), Hoyer (signed through 2019), Etling (signed to a futures contract)

Overview: On Aug. 14, Brady told us, “This team needs a great quarterback, and, you know, hopefully, I can go out and be that.” For parts of the season, he was great. There were games — including the regular-season contests against Indy, Kansas City, Chicago, and Miami and in the first two playoff games — where he looked like someone 20 years his junior. The good thing for the Patriots? In most of the cases this past year where he wasn’t great, he was able to lean on a suddenly sturdy running game and a fearsome defense. The bottom line? The quarterback didn’t deserve to be a part of the MVP conversation, but he was ably supported by a group of players who came damn near close to perfecting the art of complementary football at the right time the past year.

By the numbers: 100 - Brady is the only quarterback in league history to have two different consecutive start streaks of 100 games or more.