Despite his age, New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady remains one of the most accurate signal-callers in the NFL, according to a report by Pro Football Focus (PFF). Recently, PFF published a report about the accuracy of quarterbacks based on the separation of their receivers. In its findings, PFF said the 41-year-old Brady is one of the league’s most pinpoint passers. According to PFF, Brady was the third-most accurate quarterback in the NFL on throws to “open” targets or two steps or more of separation. The PFF added that Brady leads all quarterbacks in terms of “accuracy plus” designation in terms of "open targets", with 17.6 percent of his passes away from coverage receiving such designation.

It means that on throws that go to open receivers, Brady is still the best in the NFL.

If receivers have “up to two steps of separation” or so-called step/closing, Brady completed 67.4 percent of his passes, good for fourth among all quarterbacks. However, he led all quarterbacks in "accuracy plus" percentage throws in the "step/closing" category for the second straight year, with 33.3 percent of his passes tagged “accuracy plus”. According to PFF, Brady tallied 59.3 percent completion rate on throws landing between 10 and 19 yards from the line of scrimmage, good for second among all quarterbacks. Last season, Brady threw for 4,355 yards and 29 touchdowns with 11 interceptions as he led the Patriots to their sixth Super Bowl crown.

Addition of tall wideouts to help Brady in tight passes

While Brady didn’t fare well on “tight” throws, or if a receiver is within an arm's length of a defender or in a passing window, he is expected to perform well in the 2019 season with the arrival of tall and big-bodied wide receivers, including 2019 first-round pick N’Keal Harry.

During his playing days at Arizona State, Harry was known for his ability to catch contested passes. Last season, Harry tallied 17 contested catches with the Sun Devils. Aside from Harry, the Patriots also added Demaryius Thomas, Dontrelle Inman and Maurice Harris, who are all 6-foot-2 or taller. The Patriots also signed tall tight ends in Austin Seferian-Jenkins (6-foot-5) and Ben Watson (6-foot-3).

Safety believes tall wideouts to create mismatches

Patriots veteran safety Duron Harmon believes that the arrival of tall wide receivers will help create mismatches and will make life even tougher for their opponent’s defense. “They're not just tall, but they're big, strong,” said Harmon, adding that their length will help them create more space from the defense. Harmon said getting physical with tall wide receivers is the key, but the defense could end up being overpowered because of their length and strength. “Hopefully they bring some of that mismatch to our offense and do a good job scoring some points,” said Harmon, referring to the Patriots' tall wideouts.
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