Peyton Manning and Tom Brady had a lot of epic battles while the two were in the NFL together, but what would have happened if the roles were switched? What if it was Manning who was in New England with Bill Belichick, how would the franchises have changed?
Let's breakdown how each team would have had their history changed.
Peyton Manning – Patriots
Peyton Manning was drafted two years earlier than Brady, and for the Patriots to move up to get him, it probably would have taken multiple first-round draft picks.
Drew Bledsoe was the starting quarterback of the Patriots since 2003 and was still running the show when Manning came into the league. The Pats probably could have traded him away to try and get a first or second-round pick to make up for the picks traded away.
No matter where Peyton Manning would have played, he would have had a successful career. The Patriots were a strong, established franchise when Manning came into the league. The Super Bowl victories might have been a little different, but there is a good chance it would have been an easier path to get to the AFC Championship game.
Who knows, maybe Peyton Manning would have had more Super Bowl's than Brady does.
Colts
The biggest change to a team would have been to the Colts. Before Manning was drafted it was Jim Harbaugh who was their starting quarterback. Before the 1998 draft, the Colts traded away Harbaugh to the Baltimore Ravens for a third and fourth-round pick. Instead of making that trade they probably would have kept Harbaugh and kept rolling with him until he retired.
Harbaugh's career was all but over before the 2011 season, which is when the Colts would have made their selection to draft his replacement. The Colts would have gotten their franchise quarterback named Drew Brees in that draft.
The Colts have proven that they will stick by players through injuries, and they wouldn't have let Brees leave. He would have led the Colts to at least one Super Bowl victory, and the Saints and Sean Payton would have never found success.
Tom Brady
It's really hard to know what Tom Brady's career would have been like if the Patriots had Peyton Manning. There would have been no reason for the team to take that sixth-round flyer on him, so he would have been on a different team. Chances are he would have been a clipboard holder for a few years and never got the chance to start. He would have lasted only four or five years before his time ran out.
Brady would be best known for his time with the Michigan Wolverines, and not as one of the best players in NFL history.
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