Nature vs nurture. No, this isn’t going to be about raising children, although any tips for dealing with teens would be greatly appreciated. I’m wondering about the impact of draft position on the success of a player. Last night the Patriots’ Tom Brady became the fastest quarterback to 100 wins by leading New England over Miami in his 131st career start.
It seems hard to fathom right now, but at Michigan Brady battled Drew Henson for playing time and was generally not considered as good as Henson. The Patriots drafted Brady in the 6th round. The rest is history and he may very well be the best draft choice of all time. What impact did his draft position have on his professional career?
Last night Brady played pretty late into the game, considering the Patriot’s throttling of the Dolphins. ESPN’s Ron Jaworski commented that Brady told him he virtually gave back up Brian Hoyer no practice reps. He is the Patriot’s quarterback, it’s his team. Not in a bad way.
3 Super Bowl rings, 3 year contract at $18 million per year, gorgeous wife. Sure sounds like a recipe for letting up. Many would. Not Brady. He still has that fire in his belly to succeed. Can’t coach that. Is it fueled in part by where he was drafted?
It’s an interesting question. Did Lloyd Carr and the Michigan staff not see it? Please explain to me how the NFL experts picked 198 players before Brady in the 2000 draft. It’s amazing to me that Ryan Leaf, Rick Mirer, Akili Smith, Jamarcus Russell and Matt Leinart just to name a few were all drafted in the top ten. I know that talent comes into play here, but I do wonder if along with a high draft position comes a sense of entitlement. What role does that and a fat contract play in the amount of fire in the belly of a player?
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