“Brady ran a 5.28 40-yard dash at the 2000 NFL combine and was selected 199th overall,” SI.com wrote. “Despite Brady’s stellar senior year, NFL scouts thought he was too skinny and too slow,” Michigan Public, the University of Michigan’s NPR station, reported. A scouting report Brady shared in 2021, as CBS Sports quotes it, read: “Poor build, skinny, lacks great physical stature and strength, and gets knocked down easily.”
“There were six other quarterbacks drafted ahead of Brady in the 2000 NFL Draft,” CBS Boston noted; Pro Football Reference lists them at picks 18, 65, 75, 163, 168 and 183. By our count of its draft table, all 31 teams made at least one pick before No. 199, and “In their defense, the Patriots also passed on Brady a handful of times in 2000,” CBS Boston wrote. Michigan Public wrote of the moment “When New England finally took Brady in the sixth round, with the 199th pick overall,” and added: “Brady started his first season as the fourth-string quarterback.”
Then he met the owner. “New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, speaking from Gillette Stadium on Friday, remembers back to when he first met Tom Brady,” CBS Boston reported on January 20, 2012. By Kraft’s account: “And he looked me in the eye and said ‘I’m the best decision this organization has ever made.’”
In Brady’s second season, “on Sept. 23, 2001, with 5:03 remaining in the fourth quarter of the Jets-Patriots game, Jets linebacker Mo Lewis slammed into Patriots quarterback Drew Bledsoe,” SI.com recounted. “Bledsoe returned for a series, threw one more pass, and then was replaced by unknown backup Tom Brady.” “When Bledsoe went down the next year, Brady led the Patriots to their first-ever Super Bowl title,” Michigan Public wrote: on February 3, 2002, at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, the New England Patriots beat the St. Louis Rams 20–17 in Super Bowl XXXVI, Pro Football Reference records, and the Patriots’ bio says he was “Named Super Bowl XXXVI MVP.”
“It looks like he could be right,” Kraft said in that 2012 interview. “Brady retires a seven-time Super Bowl champion,” NFL.com wrote on February 1, 2023, after his seasons “with the New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.” “Brady has more Super Bowl championships than any other franchise in NFL history (the New England Patriots have the most with six),” CBS Sports wrote in 2021, and after Super Bowl LX in February 2026, Fox Sports still lists: “The Pittsburgh Steelers and New England Patriots are tied at 6 Super Bowl victories each.”
Fact check
The facts and where they come from
- He was picked 199th, but, by the owner’s account, he told him he was their best decision ever. New England Patriots: “Tom Brady was drafted by the New England Patriots in the sixth round (199th overall) of the 2000 NFL Draft.” Robert Kraft, as CBS Boston quotes him: “And he looked me in the eye and said ‘I’m the best decision this organization has ever made.’” 96
- His name is Tom Brady. NFL.com: “with the New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.” 10
- At the combine, he ran 40 yards in over five seconds. SI.com: “Brady ran a 5.28 40-yard dash at the 2000 NFL combine and was selected 199th overall.” 1
- Scouts said he was too skinny and too slow. Michigan Public: “Despite Brady’s stellar senior year, NFL scouts thought he was too skinny and too slow.” CBS Sports, quoting the scouting report Brady shared: “Poor build, skinny, lacks great physical stature and strength, and gets knocked down easily.” 23
- In the draft, six quarterbacks went before him. CBS Boston: “There were six other quarterbacks drafted ahead of Brady in the 2000 NFL Draft.” Michigan Public: “then watched six quarterbacks get picked before him.” Pro Football Reference’s draft table has them at picks 18, 65, 75, 163, 168 and 183. 425
- Every team passed on him at least once. Pro Football Reference’s 2000 draft table (our count): all 31 teams made at least one pick before No. 199. CBS Boston: “In their defense, the Patriots also passed on Brady a handful of times in 2000.” 54
- New England finally took him with pick 199. Michigan Public: “When New England finally took Brady in the sixth round, with the 199th pick overall.” 2
- He started as their fourth-string quarterback. Michigan Public: “Brady started his first season as the fourth-string quarterback.” CBS Boston: his “rise from the fourth quarterback on their depth chart.” 24
- When he met the owner, Robert Kraft, Kraft says, he looked him in the eye. CBS Boston: “New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, speaking from Gillette Stadium on Friday, remembers back to when he first met Tom Brady.” Kraft: “And he looked me in the eye.” 6
- “I’m the best decision this organization has ever made,” he said, by Kraft’s account. Kraft, as CBS Boston quotes him: “And he looked me in the eye and said ‘I’m the best decision this organization has ever made.’” 6
- In his second season, starter Drew Bledsoe was badly hurt, and Brady came in. SI.com: “on Sept. 23, 2001, with 5:03 remaining in the fourth quarter of the Jets-Patriots game, Jets linebacker Mo Lewis slammed into Patriots quarterback Drew Bledsoe”; “Bledsoe returned for a series, threw one more pass, and then was replaced by unknown backup Tom Brady.” NFL.com: “Brady took over as the Patriots’ full-time starter during his second NFL season.” 710
- That same season, he won the Super Bowl. Michigan Public: “When Bledsoe went down the next year, Brady led the Patriots to their first-ever Super Bowl title.” Pro Football Reference: “Feb 3, 2002 XXXVI (36) New England Patriots 20 St. Louis Rams 17 Tom Brady Louisiana Superdome New Orleans Louisiana.” New England Patriots: “Named Super Bowl XXXVI MVP.” 289
- Years later, Kraft said, “It looks like he could be right.” Kraft, as CBS Boston quotes him on January 20, 2012, right after the “best decision” line: “It looks like he could be right.” 6
- He went on to win seven Super Bowls, more than any team in NFL history. NFL.com: “Brady retires a seven-time Super Bowl champion.” CBS Sports (2021): “Brady has more Super Bowl championships than any other franchise in NFL history (the New England Patriots have the most with six).” Fox Sports, after Super Bowl LX in February 2026: “LX (2026): Seattle Seahawks 29, New England Patriots 13”; “The Pittsburgh Steelers and New England Patriots are tied at 6 Super Bowl victories each.” 101112
Sources
- Tom Brady recalls his brutal NFL combine scouting report (March 3, 2017) SI.com Extra Mustard
- Tom Brady: From seventh string to five Super Bowl rings (February 10, 2017) Michigan Public
- Tom Brady explains why he still gets ‘fired up’ over NFL Draft scouting report from 2000 (March 1, 2021) CBS Sports
- It Was 19 Years Ago Today That The Patriots Drafted Tom Brady In Sixth Round (April 16, 2019) CBS Boston
- 2000 NFL Draft Listing Pro Football Reference
- Brady Told Kraft ‘I’m Best Decision This Organization Has Ever Made’ (January 20, 2012) CBS Boston
- The lasting lessons of the hit that launched Tom Brady (September 22, 2016) SI.com
- Super Bowl History Pro Football Reference
- Tom Brady Official New England Patriots Bio (2000 - 2019) New England Patriots
- Tom Brady says he’s retiring ‘for good’ after 23 seasons in NFL with Buccaneers, Patriots (February 1, 2023) NFL.com
- Super Bowl 2021: Tom Brady stands alone in 101-year history of NFL with 7th championship (Jeff Kerr, February 8, 2021) CBS Sports
- Super Bowl winners and results Fox Sports
Notes
Every team passed on him: he was drafted, so “nobody wanted him” would be wrong. The Short says six quarterbacks went before him (CBS Boston, Michigan Public, Pro Football Reference) and that every team passed on him at least once, which is our count from Pro Football Reference’s 2000 draft table: all 31 teams made at least one pick before No. 199.
The scouting report: the words “Poor build, skinny…” are from a report Brady shared in 2021 (CBS Sports); who wrote it isn’t stated, so the Short uses Michigan Public’s “too skinny and too slow” and quotes nothing from the report.
Kraft’s account: the “best decision” line is how Robert Kraft remembers their first meeting, told on January 20, 2012, almost 12 years later. “It looks like he could be right” comes from the same telling, so the Short puts it before the seven titles, which keeps the order right.
Drew Bledsoe: the Short says only that he was badly hurt.
Tom Brady, Robert Kraft and Drew Bledsoe are alive. Only their football record, published reporting and their own published words are used; nothing here goes into their private lives or families.
Pictures: no free photo shows the 2000 combine, the 2000 draft, his first meeting with Robert Kraft, Drew Bledsoe’s injury or Super Bowl XXXVI. Tom Brady is in his 1999 captain’s portrait at the University of Michigan (University of Michigan News and Information Services, Bentley Historical Library); at Patriots training camp on August 10, 2009, in a red No. 12 practice jersey beside another quarterback and a coach, not the combine or his first season (Brian J. McDermott); and before the Patriots played the Broncos in Denver on December 18, 2011 (Jeffrey Beall). Robert Kraft is on the field before the Patriots played the Raiders in Oakland on December 14, 2008 (BrokenSphere). Drew Bledsoe is with the Buffalo Bills before a game on September 7, 2003, two years after he was hurt (SMSgt Ray Lloyd, US Air Force, cropped). The NFL Draft stage at Radio City Music Hall in New York is from April 28, 2011, not the 2000 draft (Marianne O’Leary). Gillette Stadium in Foxborough is seen during a flyover on November 11, 2012 (SrA Kelly Galloway, US Air Force), and the Patriots’ championship banners there, the first for the 2001 season, on October 8, 2007 (Bernard Gagnon). The Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, where Super Bowl XXXVI was played, is seen on October 28, 2024 (Infrogmation, cropped). Tom Brady lifts the Vince Lombardi Trophy after Super Bowl LI in Houston on February 5, 2017, not Super Bowl XXXVI (Brian Allen, Voice of America). The football on dry leaves is a stand-in (Dsw4). The other people in these photos are not named.
Photo credits
The archive photos in this story
The photographs and illustrations in this story are in the public domain or shared under open licenses; each one is credited below with its license. Tap one to enlarge it, or follow the link to its Wikimedia Commons page for the full record. The narration, captions and graphics in the Short are our own; its music and sound effects are credited below.
Music and sound effects
Music: Schumann, Kinderszenen, Op. 15: No. 1 'Of Foreign Lands and Peoples (Musopen, public domain); Mussorgsky, Pictures at an Exhibition: IV. Bydlo (piano) (Musopen, public domain); Dvorak, Symphony No. 9 'From the New World': II. Largo (Musopen, public domain).
Sound effects: Freesound, CC0.
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