Top 5 best receivers Tom Brady played with during his NFL career

Tom Brady is the most accomplished quarterback in NFL history. He dominated the league for 23 seasons with two different teams, the New England Patriots and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. In the process, Brady has won seven Super Bowl rings, and 5 Super Bowl MVPs and has received a record 15-time Pro Bowl nods in his career. Besides playing under the ingenious head coach Bill Belichick, Brady also had a lot of good players around him during his career.

He was blessed with offensive weapons like TE Rob Gronkowski, RB James White, and WR Julian Edelman throughout his career. While Tom Brady is certainly the centerpiece of the 20-year Patriots dynasty and the Buccaneers’ 2020 Super Bowl run, he still couldn’t have done it without the help of these great pass catchers.

it will not feature GronkowskiIn this article, we’ll take a look at the 5 best wide receivers of all time Tom Brady ever had in his career. Although Rob Gronkowski is the greatest pass catcher that has ever played with the 3-time league MVP QB, we are only counting the wide receivers, so Gronkowski will not be featured in this list.

Furthermore, some great wide receiver talents like Chris Godwin and Antonio Brown didn’t play long enough with the QB to be included in this list. With that out of the way, now let’s take a look at the 5 best wide receivers Tom Brady ever had.

Related: Who is Tom Brady’s favorite NBA player?

5. Deion Branch (Patriots)

Deion Branch had two stints with the New England Patriots and was one of the important players during the beginning era of the dynasty. He played in New England from 2002 to 2005 and then again from 2010 to 2012.

During his multiple stints with the Patriots, Deion Branch caught 328 passes for 4297 yards. Furthermore, Branch ranks sixth in the list of most TD passes caught from Brady with 28 touchdowns. He also played an important role in the Patriots’ second and third Super Bowl championship victories. In fact, he was named the MVP in the 2005 Super Bowl for registering 133 receiving yards.

4. Mike Evans (Buccaneers)

After his successful 20-year-long career in New England, Tom Brady left the Patriots and found a new home down south in Tampa Bay. Fortunately for Brady, he had one of the greatest receivers of this generation, Mike Evans, waiting to catch passes from him.

Tom Brady and Mike Evans only played 3 seasons together for the Buccaneers, but their chemistry was undeniably off the charts. Despite just playing for 3 years, Evans is ranked 5th in the list of most touchdown passes caught from Brady with 33 touchdown catches in the regular season.

In their last season, Evans and Brady’s connection was not the same, which led to a drop in production. Evans only had 6 touchdown receptions in the 2022 season. For comparison, he had 14 in 2021 and 13 in 2020.

Nevertheless, Mike Evans is still one of the greatest receiving talents that Tom Brady ever played with, and if they had played together a little longer, the Buccaneers could’ve certainly won multiple Super Bowl rings.

3. Wes Welker (Patriots)

Standing at just 5’9″, Wes Welker is not your typical wide receiver, but he is still arguably the greatest slot receiver in the Patriots’ history. Welker played 6 years in New England and went to 5 Pro Bowls in that period.

During his time in New England, Welker caught 672 passes for 7459 yards. Welker ranks 4th in the most touchdown passes caught from TB12 with 38 receiving touchdowns. Unfortunately and very surprisingly, Welker never won the Super Bowl with the Patriots or anywhere. When he had the best shot to win the ring in 2007, he dropped a crucial and the Patriots lost in a massive upset against the New York Giants.

2. Julian Edelman (Patriots)

Julian Edelman and Rob Gronkowski are possibly the most famous pass catchers associated with the name Tom Brady and the Patriots team. Edelman played all his 11 years in New England catching 628 passes for 6822 yards.

The numbers may not show it, but he is the second-best receiver Brady has ever had in his career. The two had undeniable chemistry and Edelman gave his 100% whenever he stepped onto the field. He ranks number 2 in the list of most touchdown passes caught from the Patriots’ iconic QB with 41 touchdown receptions.

Besides, he played a vital role in the Patriots’ sixth Super Bowl ring in 2019 against the Los Angeles Rams and won the Super Bowl MVP for registering 141 receiving yards. Edelman never received a Pro Bowl or All-Pro nod, but he has won three Super Bowl rings in his career. Not a bad career for a seventh-round draft pick.

1. Randy Moss (Patriots)

It’s a no-brainer! Randy Moss is the greatest wide receiver that Tom Brady ever had during his career, which spanned more than 2 decades. Moss joined the Patriots in 2007 and immediately made them a better team.

The Patriots became the first and only team to have a 16-0 record in the regular season. Tom Brady had the second-best season of his career that year throwing for 4806 yards and 50 touchdowns, almost half of those touchdowns were caught by Randy Moss. In that season, Moss caught 98 passes for 1493 yards and league-high 23 touchdowns. Unfortunately, they couldn’t have a perfect season since they lost to the Eli Manning-led NY Giants in the 2008 Super Bowl.

The duo only played together for 3 years. During his time in New England, Moss caught 259 passes for 3904 yards. He ranks 3rd in the list of most TD passes caught from the 3-time All-Pro QB with 40 receiving touchdowns. The duo never won the Super Bowl while playing together, but maybe if they were teammates for a longer time, they could’ve certainly grabbed at least one ring.

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