39-year old Tom Brady was the 7th quarterback taken in the 2000 NFL Draft, which continues to amaze me. Last year he became the first quarterback in NFL history to win 5 Super Bowls as a starter. To me, he is the greatest quarterback to ever play in the NFL, sorry Joe Montana. Brady has played in 237 games (235 starts) in his first 16 years in the NFL and he has completed 5,244 of 8,224 passes (63.8%) for 61,582 yards with 456 TD passes and 152 interceptions. Those 61,582 yards passing and 456 TD passes are both 4th in NFL history behind only Peyton Manning, Brett Favre, and Drew Brees. Brady has also carried the ball 532 times for 940 yards (1.8 YAC) with 22 TD runs (mostly one yard plunges) so far in his NFL career. Brady is an amazing 183-52 (77.9%) as a starting quarterback during the regular season and he is also 25-9 (73.5%) during the post-season. I wonder what the six teams that picked quarterbacks in the 2000 NFL Draft before Tom Brady must be thinking now? Here is a look at the quarterbacks picked ahead of Tom Brady in 2000:
Chad Pennington, New York Jets
The Jets selected Pennington with the 18th overall pick (1st round) of the 2000 NFL Draft. Pennington was a solid starter, but he was far from elite, as he never made it to a Pro Bowl. His best season with the Jets came in 2002, when he played in 15 games (12 starts) in which he completed 275 of 399 passes (68.9%) for 3,120 yards with 22 TD passes and 6 interceptions (104.2 QB Rate). Pennington led the NFL in both completion percentage and QB Rate in 2002 for the Jets. He developed shoulder problems in his career and he only started 16 games in a season twice (2006 with the Jets and 2008 with the Dolphins). Pennington played in 69 games (61 starts) in his 8 years with the Jets and he completed 1,259 of 1,919 passes (65.6%) for 13,738 yards with 82 TD passes and 55 interceptions (88.9 QB Rate). Pennington also carried the ball 147 times for 396 yards (2.7 ypc) with 6 TD runs for the Jets. Pennington was 32-29 (52.5%) as the Jets’ starting quarterback during the regular season and he was 2-3 in the playoffs for them. Pennington is still #4 in both passing yards and TD passes in Jets’ history, behind only Joe Namath, Ken O’Brien and Richard Todd. Pennington finished his career by playing three years for the Jets’ division rival Miami Dolphins.
Giovanni Carmazzi, San Francisco 49ers
The 49ers selected Carmazzi out of tiny Hofstra University with the #65 overall pick (3rd round) of the 2000 NFL Draft. Carmazzi never played a down in the regular season for the 49ers. He was a complete bust for the 49ers and was the worst quarterback taken in front of Tom Brady in the 2000 NFL Draft.
Chris Redman, Baltimore Ravens
[the_ad id=”384″]The Ravens selected Chris Redman with the #75 overall pick (3rd round) of the 2000 NFL Draft. Redman’s only starting experience with the Ravens came in 2002. He played in 6 games (all starts) for the Ravens in 2002 and he completed 97 of 182 passes (53.3%) for 1,034 yards with 7 TD passes and 3 interceptions (76.1 QB Rate). He led the Ravens to a 3-3 record in 2002. Redman played in 11 games (6 starts) in his four years with the Ravens and he completed 106 of 198 passes (53.5%) for 1,111 yards with 7 TD passes and 5 interceptions (71.3 QB Rate). He also carried the ball 13 times for 12 yards (0.9 ypc) in his time with the Ravens. Amazingly, Redman is still #12 in both passing yards and TD passes in Baltimore Ravens’ history. He finished up his NFL career by playing four years with the Atlanta Falcons as a backup.
Tee Martin, Pittsburgh Steelers
The Steelers selected Tee Martin with the #163 overall pick (5th round) of the 2000 NFL Draft. He only played in 1 game for the Steelers (in 2001) and he didn’t attempt a pass. He did run the ball 1 time for the Steelers and he got 8 yards on it. He played in 3 games (0 starts) in his two years in the NFL (one with the Raiders) and he completed 6 of 16 passes (37.5%) for 69 yards with 0 TD passes and 1 interception (25.3 QB Rate). He also carried the ball 6 times for 36 yards (6.0 ypc) in his NFL career.
Marc Bulger, New Orleans Saints
The Saints selected Marc Bulger with the #168 overall pick (6th round) of the 2000 NFL Draft. Bulger was waived after training camp in 2000 by the Saints. He was then picked up by the Atlanta Falcons and he spent two weeks on their practice squad before being cut. The St. Louis Rams signed him to their practice squad late in 2000, which turned out to be a good move for them. Bulger was a Pro Bowl quarterback in both 2003 and 2006 for the Rams. His best year for the Rams was 2006, when he played in 16 games (all starts) in which he completed 370 of 588 passes (62.9%) for 4,301 yards with 24 TD passes and 8 interceptions (84.4 QB Rate). He played in 96 games (95 starts) in his 8 years in the NFL (all with the Rams) and he completed 1,969 of 3,171 passes (62.1%) for 22,814 yards with 122 TD passes and 93 interceptions (84.4 QB Rate). He also carried the ball 118 times for 300 yards (2.5 ypc) with 8 TD runs in his NFL career. Bulger is #2 in Rams’ history in passing yards (behind only Jim Everett) and he is #3 in TD passes (behind Roman Gabriel and Jim Everett). Bulger was 41-54 (43.2%) during the regular season and 1-2 (33.3%) in the playoffs as a starting QB in the NFL.
Spergon Wynn, Cleveland Browns
[the_ad id=”693″]The Browns selected Spergon Wynn with the #183 overall pick (6th round) of the 2000 NFL Draft. Being a die hard Browns’ fan, thinking about Wynn still, gives me a headache. Wynn played in 7 games (1 start) for the Browns in 2000 and he completed 22 of 54 passes (40.7%) for 167 yards with 0 TD passes and 1 interception (41.2 QB Rating). Wynn also carried the ball 3 times for 15 yards (5.0 ypc) for the Browns in 2000. Wynn played in 10 games (3 starts) in his NFL career (he played in 2002 with the Vikings) and he completed 70 of 152 passes (46.1%) for 585 yards with 1 TD pass and 7 interceptions (39.5 QB Rate). Wynn also carried the ball 11 times for 76 yards (6.9 ypc) in his NFL career. He was 0-3 as a starting QB in the NFL.
I watched an ESPN special on Tom Brady not that long ago and he remembered all of the quarterback’s names that were picked ahead of him in the 2000 NFL Draft and which teams selected them. He has made those six teams pay his whole NFL career! Brady is a combined 47-13 (78.3%) against the Ravens, Browns, Saints, Jets, Steelers and 49ers during the regular season. Brady has completed 1,332 of 2,127 passes (62.6%) against them for 15,714 yards with 103 TD passes and only 30 interceptions! He has also carried the ball 119 times for 257 yards (2.2 ypc) with 7 TD runs against them. Brady is 7-5 against those teams in the playoffs. In summation, the teams that passed on Brady can only dream of what could have been if they took him instead!
Chad Pennington and Marc Bulger didn’t have terrible careers. But it is crazy that 6 QBs were picked before him. Of course, hindsight bias is playing a huge part in this thinking.
The scouts thought he wasn’t physical enough and had a terrible combine. So for anyone who needs motivation, just remember that the greatest QB ever was drafted 199th overall. It’s really proof that the scouts are never 100% correct and combines aren’t the true tell of someone’s ability.
The combine should only be used as a tie breaker when players are close to each other in talent. I know when I played football, I was a lot faster with someone chasing me than I was running a 40-yard dash. Heck, Tom Brady might have retired as a career backup already if Drew Bledsoe never got injured.