Getty Image / Chris McGrath
With the 2020 NFL Draft set to get underway next Thursday, ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. decided to flashback to 2000 and share what his scouting report was on Tom Brady ahead of that year’s draft.
Remember, Brady entered the draft with just 25 starts at Michigan under his belt where he put together a rather underwhelming stat line of 30 touchdowns and 17 interceptions. There wasn’t much hype at all around Brady entering the draft that year, to put it lightly.
Brady is the perfect example that no team ever really knows what they may or may not get out of a player they select. The Pats just so happened to make the greatest draft pick of all time in selecting an eventual six-time Super Bowl champ that’s still putting up numbers at 42-years-old.
As for Kiper’s report, he had Brady tabbed as a fifth-round pick and the 10th best quarterback of that year’s class. Here’s an excerpt from Kiper’s original scouting report on Brady:
He’s a straight dropback passer who stands tall in the pocket, doesn’t show nervous feet, and does a nice job working through his progressions. He’s not going to try to force the action, rarely trying to perform beyond his capability. He threw a TD pass in all 16 games he started against Big Ten opposition, while tossing 15 straight completions during the second half of action this past season against Michigan State. He’s accurate, throws a very catchable ball, and also knows when to take a little off the pass.
Brady eventually was taken with the 199th overall pick in the sixth round of the 2000 NFL Draft. Hats off to Kiper, the draft guru, on a pretty accurate grade on Brady.
You can check out Kiper’s full scouting report on Brady here.