Longtime New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady dominated the New York Jets and the rest of the AFC East for the last two decades. If the Jets front office had listened to one of their scouts though, the course of the team's history would likely be completely different.
Mike Tannenbaum — who served as the Jets general manager from 2006 until 2016 among a host of other front office positions since the late 90s — confirmed to Rich Cimini of ESPN that one of the team's scouts lobbied for New York to draft the Michigan quarterback during the 2000 NFL draft.
Recently spoke w/ ex #Jets exec Mike Tannenbaum, who was in war room that day. He confirmed what had been rumored for years: Scout Jesse Kaye lobbied for Brady (probably in 5th round). MT: Kaye "loved" Brady, said he was "treated unfairly" at UM and would be "great player." https://t.co/8mADaJh6Ls
— Rich Cimini (@RichCimini) April 16, 2020
Tom Brady was far from a top prospect coming out of college. Despite leading the Wolverines to many wins and throwing 16 touchdowns and only six interceptions as a senior, there were legitimate concerns about his athleticism and arm talent going into the draft.
Jets scout Jesse Kaye believed that Brady had been unfairly treated at Michigan and thought that the Jets could snag a late-round steal during the draft. New York would end up selecting a quarterback that year when they drafted Marshall University star Chad Pennington 18th overall. However, as everyone knows, Pennington's success pales in comparison to Brady's.
To be fair, Brady slipped all the way to pick No. 199 in the sixth round, so every team — including the Patriots — ended up looking past the future six-time Super Bowl champion.
In 36 career games against the Jets, Brady went 29-7 while throwing 8,649 yards, 57 touchdowns and only 15 interceptions. This offseason, the future Hall of Famer made the surprise announcement to sign a two-year deal with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
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