20 years ago, the New England Patriots took a chance on Tom Brady in the sixth round of the NFL Draft.
They made the right choice. Brady delivered six Super Bowl wins and nine appearances throughout his time with the Patriots. He also dubbed himself as the greatest quarterback to ever play, with a laundry list of accolades that still isn’t complete.
ESPN’s Mel Kiper reminisced on the moment and took a peek back at his scouting report on the 6-foot-4, scrawny quarterback out of Michigan. Kiper actually gave Brady a fair report — projecting him as a fifth-rounder and the No. 10 overall quarterback in the draft.
Smart, experienced big-game signal-caller, getting very high grades in the efficiency department this past season. Brady cut his interception total from ’98 in half, tossing 20 TD passes compared to just six interceptions. He threw for 2,586 yards, completing an impressive 62.8% of his aerials. For his efforts, Brady was named team MVP. After working as Brian Griese’s backup in ’97, Brady went on to start 25 straight games with the Wolverines.
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.
This past season, Brady completed over 60% of his passes in eight games. The only time he was really off the mark was against Penn State, when he completed just 17 of 36 passes, tossing two TD strikes compared to three interceptions. At the pro level, his lack of mobility could surface as a problem, and it will be interesting to see how he fares when forced to take more chances down the field.
Sure, he doesn’t have the total package of skills, but you have to be impressed with his level of performance this past season against Notre Dame (17-of-24), Wisconsin (17-of-27), Michigan State (30-of-41), Ohio State (17-of-27), and Alabama (34-of-46 for 369 yards and 4 TDs).
The 42-year-old quarterback proved he was worth being drafted and now he’s looking to prove he can win with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
