Former NFL HC Mike Smith names the NFC QB who he believes is the next Tom Brady

It seems almost unfamiliar to reach the business end of an NFL season and not see Tom Brady feature in it.

He has been there and done it, winning a whopping seven Super Bowls in his career with the New England Patriots and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Whether he will win another is questionable, but there is no arguing that he has been as consistent a winner as there ever has been.

His mantle has been picked up by the younger quarterbacks this season. Patrick Mahomes, Joe Burrow and Jalen Hurts are leading their teams to the championship games. However, if there has been one player whose story has closely mirrored Tom Brady's, it is none other than San Francisco 49ers Brock Purdy.

Former Atlanta Falcons coach Mike Smith also seems to agree. He pointed out that just as the GOAT was picked in the sixth round, Purdy was chosen in the draft with the last pick. Speaking exclusively to Sportskeeda's "The BallFather Podcast", he said,

"It's unbelievable. It makes me think about, okay, is this guy the next Tom Brady? What Tom was drafted, you know, drafted in the sixth in the sixth round. This guy is Mr. Irrelevant?"

He believes that irrespective of whether he wins the Super Bowl or not, the 49ers have a bonafide superstar in Brock Purdy.

"What a story if the if that were to come come to fruition here over the next three weeks it would just be unbelievable. But whether they win another football game, he's gonna be talked about for a long, long time, what he was able to do with the with the 49ers and they need to continue to protect them."

He also highlighted that the key will be to get their rushing game going and play lights out on the defense so that the rookie quarterback is not overwhelmed and asked to do too much.

"And what I mean by protect them is that defense has got to keep playing at the level that they've played. And they've got to run the football. And I know, deep down that something that coach Shanahan Kyle Shanahan wants to do. He wants to run the football first. And he's got a quarterback that has the pieces around him that he's going to make just enough plays. Just don't want to get into a shootout, because that would be tough."

Will Brock Purdy make Jimmy Garoppolo look like Tom Brady made Drew Bledsoe look?

The parallels between Purdy and Brady are uncanny. More than their relative position in the draft pick, it has to do with how they became starting quarterbacks for their respective franchises.

Tom Brady got the job when Drew Bledsoe went out injured for the New England Patriots.Similarly, Brock Purdy stepped in as Jimmy Garoppolo went down injured this season. Both Bledsoe and Garoppolo are starting-level quarterbacks in the NFL.

Tom Brady and Kurt Warner walked so Brock Purdy could run...
🫡 🐐 ⛏️
#NFL #NFLPlayoffs #FTTB #TomBrady #RamsHouse https://t.co/ysaYgX5OuD

Bledsoe's injury allowed Brady to win the Super Bowl that season with the Patriots. If Purdy replicates the same, it could end up as part of NFL folklore.