Former Pittsburgh Steelers general manager Kevin Colbert led the team’s front office before the 2000 NFL
Draft and was one of dozens of executives who passed on quarterback Tom Brady multiple times before Brady went with the overall pick to New England Patriots. on. NO. 199.
Colbert understandably expressed regret during an appearance on the “North Catholic Athletics Podcast” regarding the passing of the G.O.A.T. signal caller.
“I always go back to my first year as Steelers GM,” Colbert explained, shared by Alex Kozora of Steelers Depot. “Tom Brady was picked in the sixth round.
We took Tee Martin in the fifth round. I always say Tee Martin was a great fifth round pick. If you draft in rounds one, two, three, these guys should normally be the starters.
Rounds four and five are usually backups. Sixes and sevens are usually types of practice squads.In total, Martin played in three regular season games and made zero starts during his NFL career.
Brady, meanwhile, collected seven Super Bowl rings and became the Super Bowl’s Most Valuable Player five times. Perhaps most importantly for the Steelers, TB12 beat Pittsburgh three times in the AFC Championships.
“Looking back, it’s obvious we pursued Brady no matter how many years he was in New England,” Colbert added. “He was special. We and the rest of the NFL missed it. It is often said that you took Tee Martin.
I say, “Yes, we did.” And I loved Tee. Tee won a national championship at the University of Tennessee. And once again, as a fifth-round pick, she was a great fifth-round pick.
Colbert said the Patriots also didn’t know exactly what they had in Brady in the spring of 2000, otherwise they would have “taken him with their first pick.” Of course, Pittsburgh later passed a first-round pick on a different kind of quarterback named Ben Roethlis berger in 2004.
Roethlis berger’s face may never be found on the Mount Rushmore of the greatest players in NFL history, but he led the Steelers to a pair of Super Bowl titles during his Hall of Fame career.
