Which Players Did Tom Brady Miss in His Top Three NFL Stars From Last Week?

Tom Brady’s top three picks from Week 2 are out but it seems he failed to mention certain players that had pretty good weeks. Let’s explore who made the cut and if there was someone else who should’ve made the list.

In week 2, the list featured RB Alvin Kamara, RB James Cook, and quarterback Kyler Murray. All three gave strong performances that deserve a special mention but a major gap in Brady’s analysis was the lack of recognition of defensive players.

At first glance, it looked like Brady’s list was biased toward the offense and big-scale victories as last week’s award-winning defensive performances by Maxx Crosby and Jessie Bates failed to get any mention. However, it’s possible that Brady didn’t pick them as they already got their flowers.

AFC Defensive Player of the Week winner Crosby managed six tackles and 2 sacks to register one of his best performances and became a key factor in the team’s win against the Ravens. After the game, even Lamar Jackson gave a shout-out to Crosby.

Another name is Jessie Bates who played a crucial role in the Falcons’ win over the Eagles. He scored 12 tackles and 1 interception in the game. In the last minute of the game, Bates intercepted a pass by Hurts, which denied the Eagles’ last shot at a victory and won Bates the NFC Defensive Player of the Week award.

Brady’s 20+ years in the pocket gave him a strong eye to judge a running back and it looks like he spotted something special in Kamara and Cook’s week 2 performance.

What made Brady pick Kamara and Cook?

In Brady’s own words, Kamara had a ‘relatively quiet year’ in 2023 and his performance in the game was one of his best. He scored 4 touchdowns and covered 180 yards in the team’s massive 44-19 win over the Cowboys.

Cook scored two back-to-back touchdowns to give the Bills a decisive 14-point lead over the Dolphins in the 1st half of the game. The Miami team was unable to recover and  Cook ended the game with 3 touchdowns and 78 rushing yards.

Murray was the last name on Brady’s list with 3 touchdowns and 266 passing yards. He made two quick plays in the 1st quarter to score 2 touchdowns within 5 minutes and by the end of the first half, the Cardinals had a 21-point lead making it one of the strongest offense performances of the season.

Brady’s top picks are certainly justified but the former quarterback’s bias towards offensive players is apparent and to make the list well-rounded Brady will need to look at the games as an analyst, not as a former quarterback.