Notre Dame Football: Biggest NFL Draft steals of all-time
Notre Dame Football: Biggest NFL Draft steals of all-time
Joe Montana-QB
1979 Draft: Round 3, Pick 82
You know Joe Montana. Before Tom Brady took the mantle, you may even have thought of him as the best quarterback to ever play in the NFL, and maybe you still do. Montana is known for his Hall of Fame career with the San Francisco 49ers, but before that, he had been the Notre Dame quarterback.
Except, Montana wasn’t the All-American you’d expect him to be. Instead, he had issues with turnovers at Notre Dame, struggling to win and keep the starting job. That culminated in the 1977 National Championship and later a Cotton Bowl win in the Chicken Soup Game.
Even with all of his winning, something didn’t click in the minds of scouts at the next level. He’d famously go in the third round of the 1979 NFL Draft, and everyone knows what happened from there.
Eight Pro Bowls, two MVPs, Bert Bell Award, Offensive Player of the Year, three 1st team All-Pro selections, three 2nd team All-Pro selections, and two AP Athlete of the Year Awards. He was also commonly a leader in every statistical category you can think of. Then, of course, there is his 4-0 record in the Super Bowl.
Next. Notre Dame Football: Can Drew Pyne push Jack Coan for the starting job?. dark
In other words, Joe Montana was the best quarterback to play during his era. Today he’s honored as a member of the NFL’s 75th and 100th Anniversary Teams, the 1980s All-Decade team, the San Francisco 49ers Hall of Fame, and the NFL Hall of Fame.