15 Greatest NFL Draft Steals of All-Time
By Daniel Tran
3. Joe Montana
Being arguably the greatest quarterback ever, there is not a spot in NFL Draft that would seem appropriate for Joe Montana unless it was in the first round. Fortunately for the San Francisco 49ers, every team passed on the Notre Dame quarterback at least two rounds before they snapped him up in the third round of the 1979 NFL Draft.
It was surprising that NFL teams were staying away from Montana despite success at one of the more storied schools of college football, but the 49ers weren’t going to question it. They would gladly take a 1977 National Championship winner in the third round.
All Joe Montana did was win. After taking over the starting job in 1980, he started turning around the fortunes of the San Francisco 49ers. By 1981, he would lead the team to a 13-3 record. By 1982, he won the first of four Super Bowl Championships through gutsy performances, eventually earning him the reputation of being one the most clutch quarterbacks of all time.
By the time his career was over, Montana would win three Super Bowl MVPs, and appear in eight Pro Bowls. In 2000, he would earn the ultimate of being inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame.
Next: Deacon Jones