Sports | April 25, 2018 1:52 pm

NFL Draft: Late-Round Picks Who Became Stars Besides Tom Brady

Johnny Unitas, Roger Staubach and Bart Starr were all star QBs who slid.

Quarterback Johnny Unitas #19 of the Baltimore Colts drops back to pass against the San Francisco 49ers during an NFL football game circa 1967 at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore, Maryland. Unitas played for the Colts from 1956-72. (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images)

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By Evan Bleier @itishowitis

The NFL draft is filled with stars and, every once in a while, a diamond in the rough as well.

The most famous of those is five-time Super Bowl winner Tom Brady, an unsung quarterback out of Michigan who the New England Patriots unceremoniously selected No. 199 overall in the sixth round in 2000.

Though Brady’s status as a late-round-pick-turned-all-world-quarterback is probably the most well known, he’s far from the first player to go from NFL longshot to franchise cornerstone.

In fact, he’s not even the first quarterback.

In the 9th round of the 1955 draft, Pittsburgh selected Johnny Unitas at No. 102 overall. It didn’t work out for Unitas with the Steelers, but he went on to become an all-time great for the Colts.

Other notable quarterbacks who slid in the draft include Roger Staubach and Bart Starr. To see a full list of star late-round picks who don’t have the last name Brady, see For The Win’s list.