There have been numerous stories over the years about Tom Brady and the 2000 NFL Draft. Brady flew under the radar, with the New England Patriots spending a sixth round pick on him. He was the seventh quarterback selected that year, and we frequently hear about how Brady remembers the six quarterbacks went ahead of him.
One of the six quarterbacks drafted ahead of Brady was Gio Carmazzi. The San Francisco 49ers spent a third round pick on Carmazzi, making him the second quarterback off the board, following first round pick Chad Pennington. The pick came at a pretty huge crossroads moment for the franchise. Steve Young suffered his career-ending concussion in 1999, and Jeff Garcia had finished out the season. Garcia appeared in 13 games and made ten starts, completing 60 percent of his passes for 2,544 yards, 11 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions. Steve Stentstrom made two other starts, but Garcia took over as starter and carried that role into the 2000 season.
Brady spoke with 49ers media on Wednesday, and someone asked him if he had a chip on his shoulder because of his hometown team passing him up in the draft. He tried to play it off, but I think you could detect a little something in his answer:
You know, I think you have different ways, and I have different things that have motivated me at different times. Yeah, I mean, I’ll never forget I worked out for the 49ers back when I was coming out in 2000. And I wasn’t — They obviously went in a different direction. And that’s, I’m very happy where I ended up. And I think was very fortunate to be at the right place at the right time with the Patriots.”
It is not news that he has built his career in part on the chip he carried from being overlooked in the draft. Things have worked out well for him, but motivations like this can help push someone from good to great, or from great to all-time great.
This Sunday, it will be interesting to see how he performs out of the gates. I suppose he could be a bit nervous in front of all his family, and start slow. However, given his performance in big games, I fully expect him to come out strong and put together a big day in his first game against the 49ers in the Bay Area.
And on the other side, 49ers fans can wonder what would have been. It’s a hypothetical exercise with no answer, but it always makes for a fascinating conversation. Maybe Brady ends up just another journeyman. Or, maybe he always had it in him no matter the circumstances. There is plenty of discussion about Brady and Patriots head coach Bill Belichick, and whether or not one made the other. We’ll never know the answer, and it will go down as a slightly less discussed hypothetical than 2005’s Smith or Rodgers debate.