Several potential quarterbacks were drafted after Tom Brady and retired before him. Brady spent more than half of his life in the NFL. In fact, no other quarterback drafted in 2000 played in an NFL game after 2011, but Brady beat them out by more than a decade.
The NFL Draft class of 2000 isn’t star-studded — there are only 28 pro bowlers and just one Hall of Famer (Brian Urlancher) in that entire draft — but there were six quarterbacks taken before Brady that year (oh, and kicker Sebastian Janikowski was the Oakland Raiders’ 17th overall pick (Brady was 199).
Phew.
Sure, a lot of teams have been kicking themselves for the better part of two decades, because even the second-best quarterback in this class didn’t have an eighth of the career that Brady did.
But it sure is fun to see what the others did. So, without further ado, let’s take a look at Tom Brady’s fellow quarterbacks from his 2000 NFL Draft class.
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Tom Brady of the Patriots and Chad Pennington of the Jets embrace after New England won the AFC Wild Card game over New York, 37-16, at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts on February 7. January 2007.
(Michael Valeri/Getty Images)
Chad Pennington (Round 1, Pick 18, New York Jets)
The short- and long-term future of the Jets was decided in this draft, but not by their own selection. How were they supposed to know that their greatest antagonist in franchise history would be selected 181 times later?
Pennington certainly had a decent run. He finished second in MVP voting in 2008 (with the Miami Dolphins), and won not one, but two Comeback Player of the Year awards. He led the Jets to playoff appearances in 2002, 2004 and 2006, but never made it past the divisional round. Meanwhile, by the time Pennington’s time with Gang Green ended, Brady had already won three Super Bowls. Brady’s Patriots also beat the Pennington Jets, 37-16, in the 2006 postseason.
In his seven seasons as a full-time starter (2002-2008), the Marshall alum completed 66.2% of his passes, throwing 99 touchdowns and 62 interceptions. His 16-game average in that span was 3,572 yards, 21 touchdowns and 13 interceptions.
Giovanni Carmazzi (Round 3, Pick 63, San Francisco 49ers)
49ers quarterback Giovanni Carmazzi warms up before a Denver Broncos game at 3Com Park in San Francisco on August 25, 2000.
(Tom Hauck/All Sports)
Carmazzi never played in an NFL game in his two seasons as a backup after being drafted by Hofstra. He played a season in the now–defunct NFL Europe and made two Canadian Football League rosters.
Imagine the lineage from Joe Montana to Steve Young to Tom Brady. Oh, what could have been.
By the way, Brady still despises the 49ers, his favorite team growing up, for choosing Carmazzi over him.
«I lost my loyalty to the Niners when they passed me by six times 22 years ago and drafted Giovanni Carmazzi after they made me train locally with Steve Mariucci and decided I wasn’t good enough to play there,» Brady said. on his podcast last year. «After that decision was made, I really cared less about 49ers football, other than saying that’s the team I loved growing up.»
Chris Redman (Round 3, Pick 75, Baltimore Ravens)
Ravens quarterback Chris Redman passes against the Jacksonville Jaguars at Ravens Stadium October 20, 2002 in Baltimore.
(George Gojkovich/Getty Images)
TOM BRADY ANNOUNCES RETIREMENT DECISION IN EMOTIONAL VIDEO
Redman managed to be a backup through 2011 for both the Ravens and the Atlanta Falcons. In fact, he earned a Super Bowl ring in his rookie season, when Trent Dilfer and the Ravens beat the New York Giants in Super Bowl XXXV, 34-7.
The Louisville Cardinal actually took four years out of the NFL before returning to Atlanta in 2007; he was even on the Patriots practice squad in 2004, so you can tell he was Brady’s teammate.
Tee Martin (Round 5, Pick 163, Pittsburgh Steelers)
The Steelers’ Tee Martin lines up a pass against the Philadelphia Eagles at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh.
(Doug Pensinger/Allsport)
Martin led the Tennessee Volunteers to the 1998 National Championship after succeeding Peyton Manning, but his professional career was not as successful.
In fact, Martin played in just three NFL games (one with the Steelers, two with the Raiders). He went 6-of-16 for 69 yards and was a career selection of his before playing in both NFL Europe and the CFL. He is now the wide receivers coach with the Baltimore Ravens.
Marc Bulger (Round 6, Pick 168, New Orleans Saints)
Marc Bulger of the St. Louis Rams passes against the Lions on November 1, 2009 at Ford Field in Detroit.
(Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
Alright, now we’re back with someone we all definitely know. In fact, Bulger might actually be ahead of Pennington as the second-best quarterback in this class.
Bulger was drafted out of West Virginia by New Orleans, but he didn’t make their final roster, and he didn’t make his debut until 2002 with the St. Louis Rams, where he was more than useful. In his first full season, he went 12-3 as a starter, earning him his first Pro Bowl nomination. He got another three years later, where he recorded a career-high 4,301 passing yards.
He spent his entire career with St. Louis, hanging up his shoes in 2009. He threw for 22,814 career yards with 122 touchdowns and 93 interceptions.
Spergon Wynn (Round 6, Pick 183, Cleveland Browns)
Cleveland Browns quarterback Spergon Wynn calls the play against the Packers at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
(Jonathan Daniel/Allspor)
GISELE BÜNDCHEN SENDS A TOUCHING MESSAGE TO TOM BRADY AFTER RETIREMENT ANNOUNCEMENT
Poor browns. Sixteen picks before Brady chose Spergon Wynn.
He appeared in 10 games, seven of them with Cleveland, but it was his three games with the Minnesota Vikings the next season that really tell the story.
He played in three games, two of them starts, going 48-for-98 (49%) with a touchdown and six interceptions.
The former Texas State Bobcat tried out for NFL Europe and the CFL, seemingly commonplace for these 2000 quarterbacks.
And the Cleveland Browns have been one hell of a QB ever since: Deshaun Watson better work.
Todd Husak (Round 6, Pick 202, Washington)
Berlin Thunder’s Todd Husak during an NFL Europe game against the Rhein Fire in Duesseldorf, Germany on May 26, 2002.
(Pretty Adam/Getty Images)
Good news: Todd Husak has a 100 completion percentage in the NFL.
Bad news? He threw for a negative two yards in his only game played.
At least Washington can say they took the former Stanford QB after Brady, so they were in no man’s land. He was also a first-team All-Pac-10 player in 1999.
Ja’Juan Seider (Round 6, Pick 205, San Diego Chargers)
Seider didn’t appear in an NFL game, but he has been a successful coach. He is currently the co-offensive coordinator and running backs coach at Penn State.
Tim Rattay (Round 7, Pick 212, San Francisco 49ers)
San Francisco apparently wanted to stock up on quarterbacks after lefty Young retired.
Apparently, the Pats came very close to taking Rattay from Louisiana Tech over Brady. Rattay’s career might turn out a little differently if he teams up with Bill Belichick, but instead, he played in just 40 games (18 starts) with the Niners, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Arizona Cardinals.
In those starts he completed 60.8% of his passes for 3,941 yards, throwing for 24 touchdowns and 18 interceptions.
Quarterback Tim Rattay of the San Francisco 49ers fights against the Arizona Cardinals at the Azteca Stadium on October 2, 2005 in Mexico City.
(Robert Laberge/Getty Images)
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Jarious Jackson (Round 7, Pick 214, Denver Broncos)
Jackson played in only five games between 2000 and 2003, but he won four Gray Cups in the CFL. Jackson excelled at Notre Dame before being drafted.
Joe Hamilton (Round 7, Pick 234, Tampa Bay Buccaneers)
Hamilton is a member of the College Football Hall of Fame after his career at Georgia Tech, however he only played in one NFL game. However, he was on the roster for the winning Bucs team in Super Bowl XXXVII before turning in NFL Europe and the Arena Football League.