‘Horrible Results’ — Tom Brady’s Disastrous NFL Scouting Combine Nearly Derailed a Career That Became Legendary
The NFL Scouting Combine is useful to scouts, but some players go on to vastly outperform the numbers they recorded on one day at the start of their pro careers.
Tom Brady will soon become a Hall of Fame quarterback.
But the greatest QB of all-time was forced to overcome a horrible NFL Combine that almost ruined his pro career.
Tom Brady used his poor NFL Draft combine workouts to fuel the rest of his career
The combine is must-watch TV for football fans across the globe.
Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce first made their pro names at the event, which features multiple athletic drills in the pressure-packed build up to the annual NFL Draft.
But over the years, the combine has also become known for its misses.
Brady lasted until the No. 199 overall pick in 2000, mostly because his combine drills were so poor.
Here is talkSPORT’s look at the most famous NFL Combine disappointments … that didn’t matter in the long run.
Anquan Boldin
Boldin went to a big college (Florida State) and eventually made three Pro Bowls while winning a Super Bowl.
But he wasn’t drafted until the No. 54 overall pick in 2003, mostly because of a 4.73-second time in the 40-yard dash that ranked next-to-last among eligible wide receivers.
Speed is important in the NFL but it can be overvalued.
Boldin was a possession receiver who showed up big on pro stages, catching 1,076 balls for 13,779 yards and 82 touchdowns in a 14-year career.
The NFL overlooked Boldin in 2003.
Two decades later, it’s obvious he should have been an early first-round pick, and Boldin almost cracked the list for football’s all-time greatest wide receivers.
Anquan Boldin was a tough possession receiver who exceled on the real football field
Terrell Suggs
Suggs was the No. 10 selection in the 2003 draft, but the Baltimore Ravens had to take a chance on him.
The fiery linebacker put up huge numbers in college at Arizona State, including a staggering 24 sacks in a season.
That should have been enough to make Suggs a top pick in the draft.
But he was slow at the Combine, running the 40 in just 4.84 seconds.
A lack of bench-press repetitions (18) also hurt Suggs’ pro stock.
One story headline even proclaimed that “Suggs fails to improve times.”
“The Cardinals, who have been looking for a pass-rusher, appeared to be the most interested team in taking him with the sixth pick, but his poor time may make that less certain,” an ESPN article said.
Suggs shook all off all the outside noise, making seven Pro Bowls, winning two Super Bowls, and turning T-Sizzle into a household NFL name.
Terrell Suggs was overlooked in the draft and should have gone higher
Drew Brees
Brees had the talent and inner drive to be a No. 1 overall pick.
But the former Purdue quarterback was a classic case of being underrated during the Combine.
Brees was also a test case for size early in his career.
He measured at just 6 feet, which isn’t tall by NFL standards.
That’s partly why the future pro record-setter wasn’t drafted until the second round in 2001, despite ending his superb pro run with 13 Pro Bowl selections, a Comeback Player of the Year award and a Super Bowl MVP.
If Brees had been a couple inches taller, he would have towered over the draft.
Drew Brees is proof that some players play much bigger than their measurables
Vontaze Burfict
The Combine isn’t all about statistics and measureables.
The difficult-to-define term “character” is often used during the build up to the draft.
When it’s publicly attached to a player, it’s normally because they supposedly have character issues.
Burfict wasn’t a perfect citizen during his NFL career by any means, but there is no reason he should have gone undrafted.
He recorded 171 combined tackles in 2013 and made the Pro Bowl.
The combine and pre-draft process clearly worked against Burfict, which means the NFL missed on a strong pro defender.
Vontaze Burfict was a fierce defender who found a way to stand out in the NFL
Orlando Brown Jr.
For all of the hidden gems discovered during the draft process, there are also serious misses.
Brown acknowledged that he had the ‘worst’ Combine in NFL history.
But coaches, general managers and scouts still should have been able to see a future four-time Pro Bowler and Super Bowl champion.
Brown was a big name at Oklahoma and a projected first-round pick.
His father also played nine years in the NFL with two stints each at the AFC North outfits Cleveland Browns and Ravens.
But Brown slogged through the Combine, appearing out of shape and unmotivated.
He fell all the way to the third round and 82 players were taken before him.
Brown had the last laugh, signing a $64 million contract and playing for three Super Bowl contenders in the AFC.
Orlando Brown was better than his forgettable combine stats
Tom Brady
The most famous Combine miss of all-time will never be topped.
It’s still unbelievable to think that the greatest quarterback in NFL history lasted all the way until the No. 199 pick.
“He must have had horrible results,” one fan tweeted.
Brady ran a slow 40 (5.3 seconds) and couldn’t leap worth a darn.
His 3-cone drill time (7.2) gave a hint at a potential NFL future.
But every other measurable about Brady was off, overshadowing a solid college run at Michigan.
Immeasurables — heart, desire, focus and intensity — defined Brady and he was soon leading New England to an NFL dynasty.
In many ways, Brady would have been better off skipping the Combine.
His poor scores also internally drove him the rest of his career, as his No. 199 pick status became a daily reminder of just how wrong the NFL can be.
Brady never forgot his poor combine
