Brady & Purdy - inside two of the NFL's biggest draft steals

Little was expected of the Michigan quarterback selected by the New England Patriots with the 199th pick of the 2000 draft.

It turned out to be the biggest steal in NFL draft history as that player went on to become the NFL's greatest of all time.

Tom Brady retired last year as a record seven-time Super Bowl winner, but now another late draft pick is making an unexpected impact in the NFL.

The San Francisco 49ers took Brock Purdy with the 262nd and final pick of the 2022 draft and, in February, the quarterback emulated Brady by reaching the Super Bowl in just his second season.

So given how much scouting is done on draft prospects, why were two future stars overlooked for so long?

Brady had to work his way up the depth chart at college to become Michigan's starting quarterback, and even then had to fight to keep the role.

He impressed NFL scouts with his poise under pressure but his draft stock fell after some underwhelming physical test results at the NFL Combine, where he also posed for a famously unflattering shirtless picture., external

Brady is arguably in better shape at 46. In February, he attempted to beat his 40-yard dash time of 5.28 seconds from 2000 and ran 5.18., external

Following the draft at home in California, Brady and his family hoped he would be picked in the second or third round. Scott Pioli, meanwhile, was in New England's 'war room'.

"He was a player that we liked, but clearly didn't love," the Patriots' former director of player personnel told BBC Sport.

"We had a good grade on Brady and started talking about him seriously in the fourth round - but not just him. You always talk about a group of players because you don't know who's going to disappear off the board before you pick."

Drafting a quarterback was not a priority for the Patriots as they already had three they were committed to financially - and the earlier a player is drafted, the more their rookie contract is worth.

"When you're drafting and building your roster, you have to focus on a combination of best player available and what your team needs are, so you kind of go back and forth on certain things," adds Pioli.

"Although we started talking about Brady in the fourth round, we had other players that we felt were equally as good at their positions that could help us, so we passed him by a couple of times."

Brady was still available late in the sixth round. Six quarterbacks had already been drafted and Brady later said he memorised their names for motivation during his 23-year career.

"When we got to pick 199, we had him in a spot on the board all alone by himself," says Pioli. "We had these other players that we liked, but we're like 'this guy is too high a value to go past again. We know we have three quarterbacks already but there's a lot of things we like about him'."

San Francisco coach Kyle Shanahan found himself in a similar situation in 2022, as the 49ers prepared to make the last pick.

They didn't need a quarterback either, they traded up to take Trey Lance with the third overall pick the year before.

But while his scouts and coaches debated the team's biggest need, Shanahan was persuaded to go with his gut, external and take the best player left.

Although NFL scouts were unimpressed by Purdy's athleticism, he gained vast game experience in four years at Iowa State so the 49ers had a fourth-round grade on him.

"The jump from the college game to the NFL is more mental than physical," says former 49ers offensive tackle Joe Staley. "The processing has to happen so much quicker.

"From a players' perspective, you want a quarterback who has a calm confidence and is dependable and consistent, and for Brock to show that early [in his career] speaks to his character.

"That's really hard to find and the Niners have done a great job of late in identifying those qualities in him and other guys that have maybe not been the most talented or physically gifted coming out of college."

Pioli and Staley have seen top-10 draft picks flop and undrafted players enjoy 10-year careers.

"The draft sets expectations for players but they are human beings," says Pioli. "There's lots of factors that come into their development.

"Most of what we liked about Tommy [Brady] was his developmental skills and make-up. People call them intangibles - things like intelligence, work ethic, focus.

"We thought that in time, in our programme, he would develop. But there has to be this confluence of timing, circumstance, situation, and then opportunity. It was right for Tommy - and it's right for Brock Purdy now."

The draft can be a lottery, but Staley says anyone selecting players this weekend should prioritise those who "understand routine and how to be consistent", such as former team-mate George Kittle, now one of the NFL's best tight ends.

"When he was a rookie he was not the George Kittle everybody knows now, but he absolutely loved the game," adds Staley, who ended his 13-year career in 2020.

"He surrounded himself with veteran players, constantly asking about our preparation, how we saw the game, what he could do every day to improve himself.

"Guys like Brock have the same traits so it's no surprise, when you've been in a locker room, to see a guy like him succeed when given an opportunity because he's prepared himself for it."