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Tom Brady was a sixth-round pick in the 2000 NFL Draft and entered the league as just a two-year starter at Michigan. His numbers nor his athleticism jumped off the page and absolutely nobody could have predicted him becoming the greatest quarterback the league has ever seen.
Drew Bledsoe was the Patriots’ starting quarterback the year Brady was drafted and the two spent two seasons together in New England. Bledsoe put together a strong career of his own and was elected into the Pats’ Hall of Fame back in 2011, but not even he saw any sort of real potential in Brady during their time together in Foxborough.
Bledsoe recently shared what his initial thoughts were of Brady and he thought the now six-time Super Bowl champ would be a career backup in the league. Like plenty of others out there, he explained that nobody looked at him as a legitimate starter in the NFL.
“I really liked the kid,” Bledsoe explained. “Nobody outside of maybe Tom himself would’ve ever predicted him to be a starter in the league and be in the conversation to be one of the greatest of all-time.”
20 years ago today, the @Patriots drafted Tom Brady. Franchise QB Drew Bledsoe thought the young 🐐 would make a fine backup. pic.twitter.com/khY8fHPs3A
— E60 (@E60) April 16, 2020
Again, you can’t fault Bledsoe for being way off on his initial predictions for Brady, plenty of other folks out there thought the same exact thing, but it’s always interesting to hear these sorts of stories.
Brady now has six rings, is a three-time league MVP and has been selected to 14 Pro Bowls; not too bad for the 199th overall pick back in 2000.