There’s no doubt Tom Brady is arguably the greatest of all time. But even before all his accomplishments, one former New England Patriots cornerback knew he was special just by how he acted in the locker room.
Brady — a six-time Super Bowl champion, three-time MVP and 14-time Pro Bowl selection — didn’t start his career on a flashy note, though. He was the 199th overall pick in the 2000 NFL Draft.
He never shied away though. His competitive drive as the fourth-string quarterback caught Ty Law’s attention right away.
“To see his work ethic in practice and everything he did to prepare for when the opportunity came, he was doing all the right things,” Law said on “The Michael Holley Podcast.” “He was saying all the right things from a competitive standpoint. In practice we used to tear him up, you know, but he’s coming right back at you. And we loved that about him.”
While he put in the work on the field, that wasn’t the only thing Law noticed. It was his off-field habits that ultimately set the tone for his career.
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“But I think the thing that stood out the most — and this wasn’t even football related — is that we would get in before with everybody jumping up before we go out to the game, everybody headbutting and stuff like that,” Law said. “And don’t get me wrong, Drew is a great teammate, but he right here. You know what I mean? ‘Make sure you don’t hit Drew too hard.’
“Tom is coming over there headbutting everybody. I’m like, ‘a quarterback?’ You know what I mean? That was the moment I was like, ‘this kid is special.’ He didn’t even play in the game yet. It was just before the game how focused and zeroed in and just being a part of the team and taking hits before the game.”
The Patriots are looking for their next young quarterback to wow the team after Brady signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Jarrett Stidham sits atop the team’s depth chart, but with the NFL Draft coming up, that could change.
There are a number of quarterback prospects that New England could look to secure, like Jacob Eason, Jalen Hurts, Tua Tagovailoa or James Morgan. There’s also a case for why the Patriots shouldn’t select a quarterback early in the Draft.
Regardless of who’s calling the shots, Jason Whitlock expects the Patriots to win more games than the Bucs in the 2020 season.
