June 13 : Every year, we fascinate over what we’re going to get from highly touted rookie NFL quarterbacks. We debate them and scrutinize them, doubt them and project them. It's all in an effort to anticipate what they can be — or more often than not, can’t be — at the next level.

Of course, the journey through his “gap year” from his playing days to the booth hasn’t come without some breadcrumbs along the way.

There were moments that included Brady lamenting the “mediocrity” he believes has crept into the NFL, as well as posting a critical social media comment about quarterbacks needing to “throw the ball to the right places” after Indianapolis Colts wideout Michael Pittman Jr. was leveled on a less-than-ideal pass from Gardner Minshew against the Pittsburgh Steelers last season.

For those who have paid attention, Brady has showcased a willingness to share blunt opinions about the state of the league and its quarterback play, possibly foreshadowing what can be expected in his broadcasting career.  And he was no less candid Wednesday, when he spoke to Yahoo Sports while making the rounds for his forthcoming “Let’s Go!” marketing partnership with Hertz, which kicks off this week. During the visit, Brady touched on a handful of topics, including reflecting on his year off between jobs and what can help New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye through his rookie plunge into the NFL. And when the topic of quarterbacking in the NFL came up — and what the next 20 years of development might look like at the position — Brady again went right into the marrow. 

“I think the quarterbacking has gone backwards a little bit in the NFL,” Brady told Yahoo Sports, just a few hours before he was to be inducted into the Patriots Hall of Fame. “I don’t think it’s improved. I don’t think the teaching’s improved. I think maybe the physical fundamentals might be a little bit improved because there’s better information out there for quarterbacks to study on mechanics. But I don’t think quarterbacks really are really field generals right now like they used to be.