Tom Brady has had quite the NFL career. Winning more Super Bowls than any franchise in history, Brady has definitely cemented his legacy as the GOAT.
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However, from the onset of his NFL career, you would’ve never guessed that Brady would one day be mentioned as the greatest player in NFL history. As we all know, Brady was famously taken in the sixth round of the 2000 draft with the 199th pick.
Yep, 31 teams, all of whom had opportunities to pick Brady, chose to pass on a now seven-time Super Bowl champion. At the time, it didn’t seem like a big deal. Brady split starting reps in Michigan, and his NFL combine didn’t suggest he was an athletic beast.
Still, despite being third on the Patriots depth chart after being draft, Brady knew he would be the starter one day, when the time was right.
Tom Brady Had His Hope And Determination Called Out By Michigan Roomate’s Cousin
After appearing in only game in his rookie where he threw only three passes, Brady knew that bigger things were to come for him if he stayed patient and worked at it.
Pat Kratus, Brady’s roommate in Michigan, developed a close bond with the NFL quarterback during their time together, and he spoke highly about Brady’s incredible competitive nature. He would say:
“In his sophomore and junior year, when he was second or third on the depth chart behind [Brian] Griese and [Scott] Dreisbach, he was still studying film at 10:30, 11 at night. He was frustrated with not playing, and that’s how he channeled it.”
Brady, however, always had confidence in his own abilities, and he never got discouraged. Kratus and Brady’s friendship would evolve throughout colllege, and during Kratus’ wedding he made sure to have Brady present as his best man.
Brady also met up with Kratus’ cousin on the day of his wedding. Brady at the time had just finished his first year with the Patriots, but he was already eyeing bigger and better things for himself. He even laid this out to Kratus’ cousin as Pat would explain:
“My cousin is a very successful hedge-fund guy, and Tommy says to him, ‘You know, I think I have a great shot at being quarterback this year.’ He laid out this whole plan, talking about some of the things he had to do and what he had going for him.”
Kratus’ cousin couldn’t believe what he was hearing. A sixth round draft pick who was the third string quarterback was thinking of taking the starting job? Kratus would explain what his cousin told him:
“So my cousin comes up to me afterwards and says, ‘Pat, there’s [Drew] Bledsoe, there’s Michael Bishop. What is Tommy even thinking? Hope is not a strategy.'”
You could say that the concerns at the time were genuine. Brady really hadn’t given the Patriots any reason to believe that he was the answer at quarterback, so why would they start him especially when Drew Bledsoe, a three time Pro Bowler then, was locked in at the role?
Well, Brady would work his way up to the number two quarterback the following year, and he caught his big break when Bledsoe went down with an extremely unfortunate and scary injury.
The rest is history. Despite his cousins’ comments, Kratus always believed that his good friend Tom Brady would figure it all out:
“I just said, ‘Tommy has worked really hard at it. He always seems to find a way to do it. I bet you he will be a starting quarterback when it’s all said and done.'”
Well, Brady’s definitely become a starting quarterback and much more, proving Kratus’ cousin dead wrong in his take.
