"I'll Take Quarterbacks for Five Hundred, Alex."

The Answer is Chad Pennington, Giovanni Carmazzi, Chris Redman, Tee Martin, Marc Bulger, and Spurgeon Wynn.

The Question is, and you probably already know where I'm going with this, Who were the six quarterbacks drafted ahead of Michigan's Tom Brady in the 2000 NFL Draft?

Here is a look at how those guys went way back in 2000:

Pick #		School	Selected by
18	Chad Pennington	Marshall	Jets
65	Giovanni Carmazzi	Hofstra	49’ers
75	Chris Redman	Louisville	Ravens
163	Tee Martin	Tennessee	Steelers
165	Marc Bulger	West Virginia	Saints
183	Spurgeon Wynn	Minnesota	Browns
199	Ton Brady	Michigan	Patriots

Writing about this is not exactly an original idea.  Google "QB's drafted ahead of Tom Brady", and you'll get a zillion hits.  Still, it is worth revisiting because we know that to this day, Tom Brady still fuels himself with anger over being snubbed in that draft as he was.   Maybe he should be over it by now, but that particular motivational tool has worked pretty well for him over this last nineteen years.

I remember that the Steelers had drafted Tee Martin way back when, but didn't realize that it was in this particular draft class.  This was in the QB Era of Mike Tomczak-Kordell Stewart-Tommy Maddox for the Steelers.  They obviously felt the need to draft a QB at the time, and chose Martin.  Would love to ask Bill Cowher what the thinking was at the time.  Was Brady even on their radar? (Obviously not.)  Also, was this at the time when Tom Donahue was still calling the personnel shots for the Steelers (I'm too lazy to look it up right now)?  One wonders what might have happened had the Steelers decided on the kid from Michigan for that 163rd pick.

Martin lasted four seasons in the NFL with a couple of different teams, so he'll be able to collect an NFL pension, so good for him.  He has also fashioned a decent coaching career on the collegiate level, returning to his alma mater Tennessee as Assistant Head Coach for 2019.

Also, because it's always fun to pick on the Browns....Spurgeon Wynn instead of Tom Brady?????

Pennington, who spent his entire eleven year career competing in the same division as Brady and the Patriots, and Bulger (Central Catholic grad, by the way) had good careers in the NFL, and Redman earned a Super Bowl Ring as a back-up with the Ravens.  Carmazzi, never panned out at all, and, irony of ironies, was beaten out for a job with the 49'ers by a guy who was drafted after Brady in that same draft.

Yes, there were five other quarterbacks drafted by NFL teams after Tom Brady in 2000.

Pick #		School	Selected by
202	Todd Husak	Stanford	Redskins
205	Ja’Juan Seider	Florida A&M	Chargers
212	Tim Rattay	Louisiana Tech	49’ers
214	Jarious Jackson	Notre Dame	Broncos
234	Joe Hamilton	Georgia Tech	Bucs

The only things to note about these guys is that fact that Rattay, who beat out Carmazzi for a spot on the 49'ers squad that year, had the longest career, eight seasons, and he passed for over 5,000 yards.  The other Fun Fact here is that in his first ever start for Notre Dame in 1998, Jarious Jackson led the Irish to an upset win over a Michigan team that was led by....Tom Brady.