It's one thing to be a teammate of Tom Brady and have a first-row seat watching the legend work in practice. It's another to do that while also getting mentored by the future Hall of Famer quarterback. That's the luxury Tampa Bay Buccaneers rookie wide receiver Jaelon Darden is enjoying in the offseason. According to Peter King in his Football Morning in America piece, Darden, who's a seventh-round pick just like Julius Edelman, is getting mentorship from Brady himself.
Brady is mentoring another kid receiver in camp, fourth-round rookie Jaelon Darden of North Texas, a continuation of the fulfillment he’s gotten as a player-coach since arriving here last year. And the football . . . it’s just something he feels more in control. “When he calls a play this year, he knows the picture in his brain,” coach Bruce Arians told me. “Last year, it was just words.”
Brady apparently likes to connect to lesser-known figures of the Buccaneers receiving corps in order to build a rapport with guys he could set up huge plays with whenever the top-tier targets are not an option downfield. As for Darden, he's definitely thankful that somebody like Brady is spending time to tutor a youngster like him.
“The first time I met him after the draft, I was star-struck,” Darden said. “He said, ‘Hey Jaelon. Happy to have you on the team. I studied your film.’ What an honor. Then he took time to teach me how to win against coverages. Like, ‘When the corner plays you here, I’m gonna have the ball at this exact spot.’ Every day, I put my hard hat on and work and learn.”
Darden still needs plenty of work, but he's showing signs of progress. In Week 1 of the preseason against the Cincinnati Bengals, he caught just two of six targets for 19 yards. The following week against the Tennessee Titans, Darden had 18 receiving yards on two receptions and four targets for the Buccaneers.
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