A Punter Was Picked Before Tom Brady In The MMQB's 'NFL All-Time Draft'

Every team passed on Tom Brady before the New England Patriots selected him with the 199th overall pick in the 2000 NFL Draft.

And although Brady since has become arguably the greatest quarterback — maybe even player — in league history, eight (fictional) teams still were willing to pass on him in a recent all-time mock draft conducted by Sports Illustrated’s The MMQB.

A panel comprised of 12 football experts participated in The MMQB’s NFL All-Time Draft, in which they picked from a pool of every player in pro football history. Brady was selected ninth overall by Peter King, which seems rather low given what the Patriots quarterback has accomplished in his storied career.

The most surprising aspect of Brady going No. 9? One of the draft’s participants, Hall of Fame quarterback Dan Fouts, selected a punter ahead of the five-time Super Bowl champion.

That’s right. Fouts took Ray Guy with the fourth overall pick, right behind Lawrence Taylor, Joe Greene and Johnny Unitas.

“I really wanted Unitas,” Fouts explained afterward. “But he was taken. So I thought I would shock the world. Not that many punters had the impact Ray Guy did on a game. He came into the league the same year as me (1973), and I watched him affect games for so many years. He was such a weapon. And I thought I could get a great quarterback down the road, and I did (Terry Bradshaw, in round five).”

Anthony Munoz, Jim Brown, Reggie White and Don Hutson were selected with the No. 5 through No. 8 picks, respectively, before Brady came off the board at No. 9. One could argue whether that’s reasonable, but Fouts choosing a punter so early definitely was the head-turner.

Three consecutive quarterbacks were taken immediately after Brady, as Otto Graham, Joe Montana and John Elway were selected 10th, 11th and 12th, respectively.