Back when Tom Brady was selected in the sixth round of the NFL draft, not many would have expected him to win everything. But for Brady, it was just about getting into the NFL as per his recent comments.

This week, football icons Gary Neville, Roy Keane, and Ian Wright were joined by the seven-time Super Bowl champion on the Stick to Football podcast. During the discussion, Brady reflected on the chip he carried after being selected 199th overall in the NFL Draft.

"It's a great opportunity to be drafted wherever you're drafted," Brady revealed on the podcast. "The reality is it doesn't matter...You could start as the prodigy, someone who never thought would be that successful. There's an element to all of us where you never know who you are until you face adversity...things don't always go your way."

Back at the 2000 NFL Combine, Tom Brady hardly looked like a future seven-time Super Bowl champion.

His infamous 5.28-second 40-yard dash was viewed as painfully slow for a quarterback, while his lean 195-pound frame raised major concerns about whether he could physically survive in the NFL.

What's interesting is that his college career was still impressive. On the podcast, Brady spoke about how that almost didn't matter after the NFL Combine.

"I had a really good college career," Brady further revealed. "I played at one of the most storied football programs in America, the University of Michigan...I was 20 wins and five losses in my career at Michigan. We were really good. But then...they (scouts) saw me, and they didn't have a very high projection of what they thought I could become."

In his final two years at Michigan, Brady was a starter, racking up nearly 5,000 passing yards and 30 passing scores.

Despite the let-down, it almost didn't matter as Brady would soon go on to reach new heights after being picked by the New England Patriots.

At the end of the day, Brady also believes that a late draft pick helped him excel at the Patriots in its own way.

Tom Brady explains how an overall No. 199 pick helped him perform

On the same podcast, Tom Brady spoke about how his draft pick ended up being a blessing in disguise.

"That first year, I was drafted late, so there was no fan expectation," Brady further explained on the podcast. "I was really under the radar my first year. I got to train and develop my body through my first year. Then when I got my chance, I always said, "If they ever give me a chance, they're never going to take me off the field.""

Funnily enough, that is exactly how it went. After initially having just one outing in 2000, with three attempts and one completion for six yards, everything changed the next year.

Brady earned his first Pro Bowl nod in 2001, racking up an 11-3 record with 18 passing scores for 2,843 yards.

The next few years just kept getting better. He was well over 3,000 yards in each of his 2002, 2003, and 2004 seasons. By 2005, Brady had already registered the most NFL passing yards that year with 4,110 yards for 26 passing touchdowns.

Against the Denver Broncos specifically, Brady just about managed a winning record (8-6). Over his career, Brady managed 3,768 yards against Denver alone, with a 29:26 TD to sack ratio.

Despite what looked like an unfortunate draft pick in the beginning, the rest has truly been historic for Tom Brady.

Do you think a late-round pick indeed helped the GOAT in his NFL career?

Read more at the Denver Broncos Community!

Written by

Aadesh Dhote

Edited by

Aadesh Dhote