Every single NFL team passed on Tom Brady multiple times before the seven-time Super Bowl champion was drafted with the 199th overall pick in 2000. If Sean Payton had it his way, he claims Brady would have ended up somewhere other than the New England Patriots.
Payton was the offensive coordinator with the New York Giants at the time Brady came into the NFL. The two share an agent, Don Yee. During an appearance on the “Green Light” podcast with Chris Long this week, Payton said he was very impressed with Brady. Payton credited Yee for calling his attention to the future Hall of Famer.
“All right, so I’m in New York and my agent is Don Yee, and Don also represents Tom Brady,” Payton said, as transcribed by John Sigler of Saints Wire. “Don would periodically call me with a client that he just signed, and he said, ‘Hey, will you call up Tom Brady? He’s at Michigan and I’ve got him, and just help him out with things that would be important for him at the combine.’”
Payton says he did meet with Brady. He also studied his college game tape and felt Brady was worthy of being drafted in the late-third or early-fourth round. Payton claims he and longtime Giants scout Raymond Walsh were the only two who wanted the team to draft Brady, and they did not have enough pull within the organization.
That is a big claim for Payton to make. Brady lasted until the sixth round of the draft, which means there were countless coaches, scouts and executives who did not recognize his potential. Perhaps Payton was impressed with Brady, but you have to wonder how hard he pushed for the Giants to draft him. That sounds a bit like revisionist history, but perhaps Payton did have a better eye than almost every single one of his peers.
