Quarterback is the most important position in any sport, but what makes it all the more crucial? If you think about why players succeed and fail at that position, you will see how easy it can be for a team to win or lose games because of their quarterback.
The “what round was tom brady drafted” is a question that has been asked many times. The following article will rank the 6 QBs selected ahead of Tom Brady in the 2000 NFL Draft.
Tom Brady, 44, is the last guy remaining from the NFL Draft of 2000. Given that he notoriously finished 199th overall that year, the fact that he was even among the final 50 or so standing is noteworthy.
Consider who else was drafted in that round and where they are today. The No. 1 overall selection, Courtney Brown, hasn’t played in the NFL since 2005, when Brady was 28 years old. Brian Urlacher, the ninth overall choice by the Chicago Bears, is already a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Since 2010, none of the quarterbacks drafted after Brady have ever thrown an NFL pass.
Before the New England Patriots picked Brady, who started at Michigan from 1998 to 1999, six quarterbacks were taken, ranging from Marshall’s Chad Pennington to Southwest Texas State’s (now Texas State’s) Spergon Wynn. Who of the six had the most successful careers? Only on-field accomplishments and stats are used to rank players on this list. Off-field concerns were not taken into account.
The greatest players are ranked as follows, taking into account the aforementioned prerequisites:
San Francisco 49ers’ Giovanni Carmazzi, No. 6 (65th overall)
Today is the 20th anniversary of the NFL Draft, which took place in the year 2000… Bill Walsh, the 49ers’ general manager, is ecstatic that Hofstra’s Giovanni Carmazzi was still available at pick #65.
134 choices later, Tom Brady was selected.
Steve Mariucci knew right away that Carmazzi wasn’t the guy. He never appeared in a regular-season game. pic.twitter.com/dlAkkQin9H
— Funhouse (@BackAftaThis) April 16, 2020
When you Google Giovanni Carmazzi, at least two of the first five images that come up are of Brady. It’s never a good omen when it happens. The former Hofstra quarterback was the second overall pick in the 2000 NFL Draft, although he never played a regular-season game. In the 2000 Pro Football Hall of Fame game, the 6-foot-3, 224-pound gunslinger met Brady’s Patriots and only completed three of seven throws for 19 yards.
Carmazzi retired to become a farmer and yoga practitioner after briefly playing in the NFL Europe and the Canadian Football League. There’s no news on whether he ever started using the TB12 Method.
Tee Martin (Pittsburgh Steelers) is No. 5 on the list (163rd overall)
Tee Martin played with the Pittsburgh Steelers for a time | Jeff Gross/Allsport via Getty Images
Martin, a national champion at Tennessee, appeared in just three NFL games, two of which were with the Oakland Raiders in 2003. In his last NFL season, the fifth-round selection completed six of his 16 throws for 69 yards, no touchdowns, and an interception.
Martin spent the 2021 season as the Baltimore Ravens’ wide receivers coach, so there’s not much more to say about his NFL career. His son, Amari Rodgers, plays wide receiver for the Green Bay Packers.
4. Cleveland Browns’ Spergon Wynn (183rd overall)
Over the course of two seasons, Spergon Wynn appeared in ten NFL games | Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images
Let’s all point and laugh at the Browns for drafting Wynn, who attended Minnesota and Texas State in college, just 16 choices before the Patriots picked Brady. In 10 career games, Wynn, a 6-foot-3, 226-pound gunslinger, completed 46.1 percent of his throws for 585 yards, one touchdown, and seven interceptions.
So, where does he stand in comparison to Tee Martin? At the very least, Wynn threw a touchdown pass in the NFL. In a 24-13 defeat to Brett Favre and the Green Bay Packers on Dec. 30, 2001, he connected with veteran tight end and two-time Super Bowl winner Byron Chamberlain on a 47-yard touchdown pass.
3. Baltimore Ravens’ Chris Redman (75th overall)
Chris Redman’s most notable NFL appearance came in 2007 with the Atlanta Falcons | Doug Benc/Getty Images
Fans of the Atlanta Falcons will remember Redman as the 30-year-old backup who came out of nowhere in 2007 — he had planned to play in the Arena Football League until being recruited by Bobby Petrino, his former college offensive coordinator — and threw 10 touchdowns against five interceptions. Of course, the Falcons chose Boston College quarterback Matt Ryan third overall in the 2008 NFL Draft, thus putting Redman on the bench for the foreseeable future.
Redman was a third-round choice of the Ravens in 2002, going 3-3 as a starter before being replaced by first-round pick Kyle Boller a year later. He spent the most of his career as a backup who could go in and do a good job when called upon to see the field.
Overall, Redman performed well enough throughout the 2007 season to earn the third slot on our ranking. That’s just one more evidence of how bad the Brady Six were in the NFL.
2. New York Jets’ Chad Pennington (18th overall)
Okay, now we’re having a conversation. During his 11-year career, Pennington appeared in at least 10 games five times (2002-04, 2006, and 2008). In those five seasons, he averaged 65.9% completion percentage, 17 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions, and he made the playoffs four times.
However, the most serious criticism leveled against Pennington, fair or not, is the frequency with which he was hurt. He underwent four shoulder operations between 2004 and 2011, and he had other persistent difficulties throughout his career, including a wrist injury sustained during the 2003 preseason.
Pennington is probably the Jets’ most successful quarterback in the post-Joe Namath era, depending on who you ask. Life isn’t always fair.
1. New Orleans Saints’ Marc Bulger (168th overall)
While playing for the St. Louis Rams, Marc Bulger was named to the Pro Bowl | Greg Trott/Getty Images
Bulger joined the St. Louis Rams’ practice squad late in the 2000 season after starting his career with the Saints. Bulger earned Pro Bowl honors and won 12 of his 15 starts for the Rams a year later after excelling in lieu of Kurt Warner during the 2002 season.
From 2002 through 2008, the West Virginia graduate completed 62.6 percent of his throws for 21,345 yards, 117 touchdowns, and 87 interceptions while making the playoffs twice. Bulger completed his career as a backup to Joe Flacco with the Baltimore Ravens in 2010, two years before Flacco and colleagues defeated Brady’s Patriots in the 2012 AFC Championship Game, after requesting his release after the 2009 season.
Bulger had a good career overall, and he should be recognized as The Brady Six’s most successful quarterback.
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Since Chad Pennington was selected over Tom Brady in the 2000 NFL Draft, the New York Jets have had how many starting quarterbacks?
The “what round was aaron rodgers drafted” is a question that has been asked for years. Aaron Rodgers was selected in the 6th round of the 2000 NFL Draft, but he wasn’t the only QB selected ahead of Tom Brady.
Frequently Asked Questions
What quarterbacks were taken ahead of Tom Brady?
A: Most notably, Joe Montana went to the San Francisco 49ers ahead of Tom Brady. Ultimately, however, Tom Brady has turned out to be one of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history and a future Hall-of-Famer.
What quarterbacks were taken in the 2000 draft?
A:
Tim Couch (1), Cade McNown (2), Akili Smith (3), Joey Harrington, John Beck, Mike Elkins and Josh Freeman.
How many quarterbacks were chosen before Tom Brady?
A: Three. The first quarterback chosen was Joe Namath, then Steve Young and finally Tom Brady in the sixth round of the 2000 NFL Draft.
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