"Tom Brady early on got more credit than he deserved" - Max Kellerman thinks Brady was overrated early in his career

Was Tom Brady overrated early in his career? ESPN's Max Kellerman seems to think so.

Kellerman thinks the seven-time Super Bowl champion was overrated in the early part of his career. This is not the first time Kellerman has taken shots at Tom Brady.

Keller said this about Brady being overrated earlier in his career.

"What I'm saying is his development was so perfect. Like it's the best case scenario for what you're talking about. But, Jay, I would say one thing about Tom Brady is he gave you the feeling ... or like Tom Brady early on got more credit than he deserved, right? He gave you a feeling like, that's the dude I want. Even key when his team was carrying it. Does Mac Jones give you that feeling? Jay? Is Mac Jones the guy you want? "

Keller's comments about Tom Brady will surely not go unnoticed, but is he wrong? Early in his career, Brady was the backup to starting quarterback Drew Bledsoe.

When Bledsoe suffered a knee injury in 2001, Brady took over as the starting quarterback and never looked back. He went on to carry the New England Patriots to their first of many Super Bowl wins and started their dynasty.

Even Brady has said recently that he felt that, had he lost to the Raiders in the infamous tuck rule game, he may have gone back to being Bledsoe's backup.

“I’m probably the backup QB going into 2002," Brady said, via NBCSportsBoston.com. “I’m not the starter if we lose that game.”

Why Tom Brady isn't overrated

NFC Divisional Playoffs - Los Angeles Rams v Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Max Kellerman is often loud and wrong about his opinions. Saying Tom Brady was overrated early in his career is just not correct. All you have to do is look at the quarterback's playoff record, which is 35-12 in his career.

If it wasn't for Brady, the Patriots wouldn't have made it to the Super Bowl. At the time of his injury, Drew Bledsoe had been with the team for seven years and had only made it to the Super Bowl once in a loss against Brett Favre and the Green Bay Packers in 1997.

Not only did the Patriots make the Super Bowl, they won it against the high-powered St. Louis Rams in the 2001 season.

He would go on to lead them to six more Lombardi trophies in his career with the Patriots.

Did he get some help along the way? Of course, he did, but it was Brady's leadership and play that led the franchise to where they stand today.

The Patriot Way started with Brady.