Tom Brady Voted #1 NFL Player For 2nd Straight Season
BOSTON (CBS) -- For the second straight year, Tom Brady has been voted #1 on the NFL Top 100 list.
Brady is coming off an MVP season, an award he won for just the third time in his career. He completed 66.3 percent of his passes for a league-leading 4,577 yards along with 32 touchdowns and eight interceptions. That was before his postseason, during which he threw eight touchdowns and zero interceptions in three games for the Patriots. In Super Bowl LII, Brady set a Super Bowl record with 505 passing yards to go with three touchdowns and no interceptions. Included in that postseason was the AFC Championship Game, during which Brady played with a serious gash in his throwing hand but still threw for 290 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions against one of the NFL's best defenses.
The Top 100 list is made by the players, who are asked by the NFL Network to vote on the best players in the league.
Brady reacted to the ranking in an Instagram comment on the NFL's post, saying, "Thank you! I am beyond blessed. Football is the ultimate team sport and I love playing for my teammates, coaches, organization, family and our fans!! Congratulations to all the players recognized for 2017, but 2018 is upon us."
Last year, coming off the historic Super Bowl comeback over the Falcons, Brady earned the No. 1 spot on the NFL's Top 100 list, a year after finishing at No. 2.
Rob Gronkowski, who came in at No. 15 this year, was the only other member of the Patriots to make the Top 100 this year.
Brady has finished in the top five every single year the list has been released, dating back to 2011, when he ranked No. 1. Over the last four regular seasons, with Brady at age 37-40, the quarterback has thrown 129 touchdowns and just 26 interceptions while leading the Patriots to a 48-12 record. The team has won two Super Bowls and made it to one more in that time, with Brady throwing 28 touchdowns and nine interceptions in the Patriots' 11 playoff games.
Broncos linebacker Von Miller summed up his feelings toward the Patriots' quarterback.
"Tom Brady is great. He's been great for a long time," Miller said. "And anybody that hates on him is just a hater. Because there's nothing that you can hate on Tom Brady about. He's battled through injury, he's fought through adversity on the football field and off the football field, he's done everything the right way, he's playing as long as anybody can play, he's taking care of his body, and he's winning championships at the same time. So if you're hating on him, you're just a hater. And shame on you."
