INDIANAPOLIS – Texas A&M's Myles Garrettand Michigan's Taco Charlton are two of the best pass rushers and top overall prospects in the 2017 NFL Draft class.
Garrett may very well end up the No. 1 overall pick, while Charlton is likely to hear his name called later in the first round.
Both have elite futures chasing down elite NFL quarterbacks.
But they have very different feelings on one of those elite passers – Patriots quarterback Tom Brady.
Charlton, not surprisingly considering their shared alma mater, is a big Brady fan. During his Saturday meeting with the media at the Combine he was asked about Brady's trip to Ann Arbor to be an honorary captain last September while in the midst of serving his four-game Deflategate suspension to open the NFL season.
"See, I was hurt that game," Charlton said with a smirk when asked to recall Brady's pregame speech to the Wolverines. "So, I wasn't able to really soak it in and get kind of into it as much as a player who was ready to play. I was in a boot, so I was kind of more so sulking and sad that I wasn't able to help my team out more than motivated.
"But listening to Brady and what he's done, he's quite the G.O.A.T., the Greatest Player of All-Time, in the NFL. So, listening to him and acknowledging him, him coming out to see the team was something I tried to soak up, just to words that he has and all the wisdom that he has is something that I will always listen to."
Garrett, on the other hand, is no Brady fan. He made that clear when ask if given the chance to sack any quarterback in the NFL, who would he choose?
"Tom Brady," Garrett replied swiftly.
Why?
"Because I'm a Peyton Manning fan," Garrett declared of his loyalty to Brady's longtime NFL rival.
Patriots fans probably won't like that answer.
