Why 49ers passed on Tom Brady in 2000 NFL Draft, chose Gio Carmazzi

Share

Tom Brady wanted to come home. For the second time, the 49ers said no.

NBC Sports NFL analyst Chris Simms reported Sunday that the 49ers would not pursue Brady in free agency, and instead chose to stick with Jimmy Garoppolo as their quarterback. It doesn't stop there, though. Simms also reported Brady, who is a San Mateo native, had the 49ers as his first choice this offseason. 

Brady didn't get his way, however, and announced Tuesday morning that he officially will not return to the New England Patriots as he continues his football career. As Brady won't be playing in the Bay Area in 2020, it's a repeat of when he was selected in 2000 NFL Draft. Like so many other teams, the 49ers passed on him then, time and time again. 

Instead, they picked this guy: 

The 49ers selected Hofstra's Giovanni Carmazzi in the third round of the draft. Brady wasn't selected until the Patriots scooped him up in the sixth round. 

Steve Mariucci, the 49ers' coach at the time, explained the Carmazzi choice back in November 2016.

San Francisco 49ers

Find the latest San Francisco 49ers news, highlights, analysis and more with NBC Sports Bay Area and California.

Top five trade fits for Deebo as 49ers look to deal star WR

Deebo FaceTime's Brown after Eagles' Super Bowl LIX win

“This is Scouting 101,” Mariucci said to The Eagle-Tribune. “Gio was a Rhodes Scholar (candidate), did really well in the Wonderlic (intelligence test). Was a point guard on the basketball team. He was a captain. He was very athletic. He had a very strong arm. He ran a 4.7 40 (yard dash).

"My point is he had all of the measurables academically with intelligence and he had all of the measurables athletically.”

Hindsight is 20/20. Every team passed on Brady, including the Patriots earlier in the draft. Somehow for the 49ers, though, it gets worse. 

Mariucci said the 49ers actually had Brady in for a workout of about 50 or 60 local college players. The greatest quarterback of all time was right there in front of the 49ers. 

“We had Tom here for a local (pro) combine and let him leave here without knowing anything more about him,” Mariucci said to The Eagle-Tribune. “That’s the part that really upsets me. We had him here and didn’t do our homework.

“He probably threw the ball eight or nine times, ran the 40 and that was it. It was very quick and not very thorough. I remember going back to look at our notes from the workout and there was nothing substantial on Tom. That would have been the time, if it’s possible, to find out what makes him tick.”

[RELATED: Why 49ers decided to trade away Buckner, re-sign Armstead]

Brady won six Super Bowls with the Patriots before deciding to move on to another team this offseason. Carmazzi lasted two seasons on the 49ers. He never threw a single pass in the NFL. 

Sometimes a walk down memory lane is nothing more than a nightmare.

Contact Us