Tom Brady leads top 10 late-round draft steals since seven-round format began
When the NFL conducted its first common draft in 1967, the event was a marathon, unfolding over 17 rounds. It's been steadily scaled back over the years, reduced to the current seven-round format in 1994.
History suggests plenty of quality players — a dozen or more longtime starters, a handful of stars, maybe even a Hall of Famer — will emerge from the final day of the draft after they overcome college injuries, red flags or simple anonymity.
Here's a top 10 list of the best ones who have been picked between Rounds 4 and 7 during the past 22 drafts.
1. QB Tom Brady (6th round, 2000, Patriots): Perhaps you've heard of him? The 199th selection of the 2000 draft produced arguably the greatest quarterback of all time — even if he struggled to keep his starting job at Michigan. No other passer has started six Super Bowls, and only Joe Montana can match Brady's three Super Bowl MVPs.
2. RB Terrell Davis (6th round, 1995, Broncos): A Super Bowl MVP, league MVP and one of seven rushers to achieve 2,000 yards in a season — all despite an abbreviated career that saw him only play four full seasons (Davis was all-pro in three of them).
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3. DE Jared Allen (4th round, 2004, Chiefs): The four-time all-pro just retired with 136 career sacks, tied for ninth-most in league history.
4. CB Richard Sherman (5th round, 2011, Seahawks): The chatty corner backs up his words, named all-pro three years running as the face of one of the greatest defenses ever.
5. WR Antonio Brown (6th round, 2010, Steelers): He's emerged as arguably the league's best wideout over the last few years. His 265 catches in a two-year period is unmatched, and he'll be taking more space in the record book if he maintains his current pace of production.
6. WR Brandon Marshall (4th round, 2006, Broncos): The itinerant six-time Pro Bowler is the only player with 1,000-yard receiving seasons for four different franchises. Marshall has surpassed 1,000 in eight of the last nine years.
7. LB Zach Thomas (5th round, 1996, Dolphins): Initially viewed as too short (5-11) to be an effective pro linebacker, he wound up being all-pro five times.
8. QB Matt Hasselbeck (6th round, 1998, Packers): Though Brady's story is well known, it truly is rare to find a franchise quarterback this late. But Hasselbeck was just that for the Seahawks, taking them to their first Super Bowl while getting three Pro Bowl nods.
9. G Jahri Evans (4th round, 2006, Saints): The Bloomsburg product became a perennial all-pro and was a mainstay in New Orleans for a decade.
10. C Matt Birk (6th round, 1998, Vikings): This Harvard man was a six-time Pro Bowler during a 14-year career that ended with him hoisting the Lombardi Trophy with the Ravens.
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