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Tom Brady and Sean Payton Could’ve Ruled NFL In 2000; But New York Giants Dashed Those Hopes
16th April remains the day New England Patriots pulled off a massive heist in the 2000 NFL Draft. On this day that year, the Bill Belichick led Patriots drafted a 21-year-old Tom Brady as the 199th overall pick. That quarterback-head coach went down as the most successful duo in the history of the NFL.
Tom Brady led the New England Patriots to six Super Bowl wins. Many believe that it was the player himself that helped Bill Belichick climb the ladder of success, others believe it to be the other way round. However, imagine if the two were never together. Yes, imagine if Tom Brady was with another legendary coach like Sean Payton.
Sean Payton almost convinced the New York Giants to draft Tom Brady
The legendary New Orleans Saints head coach, who announced retirement from pro football earlier this year, revealed a very interesting fact about that year’s draft. Payton revealed how he tried to convince his then team the New York Giants to draft Tom Brady.
FOXBORO, MA – DECEMBER 06: Tom Brady #12 of the New England Patriots exits the field after the Patriots 35-28 loss against the Philadelphia Eagles at Gillette Stadium on December 6, 2015 in Foxboro, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
“We were (scouting) Brady, now this is going around the room and everyone’s seen Tom run the 40 at the combine. Everyone’s seen, you know, you get the body, weigh in pictures, all of that,” Payton said. “So, you have a guy who is not fully developed yet who was pretty much a one-year starter. You could tell that he needs the weight room.”
“But Lloyd Carr (Michigan head coach) said this, I’ll never forget it, he said he’s the toughest player that he’s ever coached. That meant something.”
Was the 2000 NFL Draft a total loss for the Giants?
It is a no-brainer to say that Tom Brady’s combine performance wasn’t impressive enough. This is why the Giants passed on Brady in the 2000 NFL Draft. The Giants instead drafted Ron Dayne, Cornelius Griffin, Ron Dixon, Brandon Short, Ralph Brown, and Dhani Jones.
HOUSTON, TX – FEBRUARY 1: Quarterback Tom Brady #12 of the New England Patriots looks on before Super Bowl XXXVIII against the Carolina Panthers at Reliant Stadium on February 1, 2004 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
Although they did not pick Tom Brady, who would go on to become the best QB in NFL history, it wasn’t that big a loss for the franchise either. Five of the players drafted continued to play for seven years in the league. However, one could only imagine what would have been the course of the Giants history had they drafted Tom Brady that year.
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