The debate over Tom Brady and Peyton Manning has lasted for more than two decades.
Chris Simms found a new way to widen it.
Simms ranked Brady ninth on his list of the 10 greatest quarterbacks to have at their absolute peak, placing the New England Patriots legend behind Manning, Patrick Mahomes, Aaron Rodgers, John Elway, Brett Favre, Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson and Dan Marino.
Roger Staubach completed the list at No. 10.
Manning holding the top spot will generate the familiar arguments about regular-season control, arm talent and five MVP awards. Brady landing eight places behind him creates a much harder case to defend.
Allen and Jackson, two brilliant active players who have yet to appear in a Super Bowl, also finished ahead of a quarterback whose best season produced one of the most dominant passing performances the NFL has seen.
Simms Questions How Brady Would Look Outside Patriots’ System
Sunday Night Football published the full ranking Monday, placing Manning first and Brady ninth.
Simms explained his position during “Chris Simms Unbuttoned,” arguing that Brady benefited from the structure around him during the early years of the Patriots’ dynasty.
In a clip shared on X, Simms said Brady was “not going to extend plays” and questioned whether his career would have looked as polished in other situations. He pointed to Brady’s limited ability to create outside structure and described several quarterbacks ahead of him as “one-man shows that overcame unreal obstacles.”
🎥: @CSimmsQB
“If you put him in some other situations, I don’t know if it would have looked as pretty…I’m not sure you could do more with less…Brady amazing, but not gonna extend plays, needs pass
There is a reasonable football discussion inside that argument.
Brady never possessed the movement skills of Jackson, Allen or Mahomes. Rodgers and Favre could make throws from unstable platforms that few quarterbacks would attempt. Elway and Marino had physical gifts that helped redefine the position in their eras.
The list becomes harder to follow when those traits appear to outweigh what Brady did at his own peak.
Brady’s game was built around pocket movement, anticipation and control before the snap. Those skills produce fewer broken-play highlights, but they allowed New England to change its offensive weapons repeatedly without removing the quarterback from the center of it.
The Patriots could win through defense and the running game early in his career.
By 2007, they asked Brady to drive an aggressive passing attack, and the result challenged the limits of what a prime quarterback could produce.
Brady’s Peak Leaves Little Room for a No. 9 Ranking
Brady completed 68.9% of his passes for 4,806 yards, 50 touchdowns and eight interceptions during the 2007 regular season. The Patriots finished 16-0, while Brady earned the first of his three NFL MVP awards.
That season alone gives Brady a credible justification against anyone on Simms’ list.
His overall career makes ninth feel even more severe.
Brady retired as the NFL’s career leader in passing yards, touchdown passes, quarterback wins and Super Bowl MVP awards. He won seven championships, including six with the Patriots and another with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Career totals alone cannot settle a discussion focused on prime performance.
But they still matter because Brady’s peak covered several distinct stretches.
He won a unanimous MVP in 2010, another MVP at age 40 and led the league in passing yards and touchdowns at age 44. His ability to command an offense remained elite across different personnel groups, coordinators and stages of his career.
Simms’ ranking appears to reward quarterbacks who could rescue a broken play with physical talent, but Brady’s strongest work often prevented the play from breaking in the first place.
Manning at No. 1 can be defended. Brady at No. 9 turns an old debate into something far more difficult to explain.
Patriots Legend Tom Brady Disrespected in Stunning QB Ranking