Former Indianapolis Colts general manager Bill Polian has claimed that the club put a first-round grade on Tom Brady for the 2000 NFL Draft.

The Colts already had Peyton Manning as their signal-caller after taking him with the first-overall selection in the 1998 Draft, but Polian has revealed that had they not drafted Manning they would have considered taking Brady in the first round.

Polian told SI.com: "Well, [Ben] Roethlisberger later on [in 2004] - we were really high on him. Aaron Rodgers the year after.

"That's the only name that comes to mind right away. And I don't think there was a guy in between, but Tom Brady would have been a guy, and we were very high on him.

"Our guys really loved him, but we weren't in the quarterback market, obviously. Those would be the guys I remember us giving solid, first-round, can-lead-you-to-a-championship grades."

Brady was taken in the sixth round of the 2000 Draft by the New England Patriots and has gone on to win four Super Bowls and the league MVP award twice.