Drew Brees had a very long career lasting 20 years and compiled many records by the time he retired. Today we are going to break down his career year into 4 chapters: The San Diego Years, The Peak, The Bountygate Fallout, and The Longevity.
The San Diego Years
Drew Brees was drafted with the first pick of the second round in the 2001 NFL draft. His rookie year, he hardly played sitting behind Doug Flutie. In Brees’ second year, he got a chance to start, leading the chargers to an 8-8 record as he played decently finishing as the 22nd best quarterback in the NFL. Although being decent in his Sophomore campaign, Brees struggled in his third year in the league. He went 1-7 as a starter before being benched for Flutie, later he regained the starting job in week 15 but could not turn around a tough season and only finished as the 30th best quarterback in my rankings.
| Year | Team | Games | Yearly Rank | Tier |
| 2001 | SDG | 1 | 48 | Bad/backup |
| 2002 | SDG | 16 | 22 | Adequate |
| 2003 | SDG | 11 | 30 | Bad/backup |
| 2004 | SDG | 15 | 4 | Elite |
| 2005 | SDG | 16 | 7 | Great |
After three mediocre, at best, seasons to start his career. Drew Brees’ job was in danger when the Chargers traded for highly touted rookie Philip Rivers. Luckily, his fourth season was a breakout year, going 11-4 and throwing 27 touchdowns to just 7 interceptions. I ranked Brees as the 4th best quarterback only behind Peyton Manning (who won MVP), Donovan Mcnabb and Dante Culpepper. In 2005, Brees played on the franchise tag and had another fantastic year, finishing as the 7th best quarterback. Unfortunately the season ended on a low note as he tore his labrum in his throwing shoulder in the last game of the year. With Brees coming off of an injury and demanding a large contract extension, the Chargers decided to go with the younger and cheaper option in Philip Rivers and let Brees walk in free agency.
The Prime
The Saints signed Drew Brees to a 6 year 60 million dollar contract and he immediately started living up to his contract. In His first year with the Saints, he went 10-6 and led the league in passing yards before losing to the Bears in the conference finals. That year, he finished as the 2nd best quarterback and had an All Pro season. After another Great season in 2007, Drew Brees made 2008 a historical year. While he only finished the year 8-8, he became the second quarterback to ever throw for 5,000 yards (the first being Dan Marino in 1984). Even with the Saints missing the playoffs, he still finished 4th in my QB rankings for the year.
| Year | Team | Games | Yearly Rank | Tier |
| 2006 | NOR | 16 | 2 | All Pro |
| 2007 | NOR | 16 | 10 | Great |
| 2008 | NOR | 16 | 4 | Elite |
| 2009 | NOR | 15 | 1 | All Pro |
| 2010 | NOR | 16 | 7 | Great |
| 2011 | NOR | 16 | 2 | All Pro |
In 2009, Drew Brees had the best season of his career. He went 13-2 and led the league in passer rating and touchdowns. This was his first and only year where he was the best quarterback but ultimately lost the MVP to Peyton Manning (this is one of the few times the JTA disagreed with who the MVP was). Drew Brees did extract revenge over him when he went on to win the Super Bowl over Manning and the Colts. Following his most successful season, Brees had another Great season and was a massive favorite over the 7-9 Seahawks in the playoffs (the first team to make the playoffs with a losing record). Unfortunately for him, Marshawn Lynch decided he was never going to be tackled, putting together one of the most famous runs and pulling off the upset. In 2011, Brees bounced back, going 13-3 and throwing for a, at the time, NFL record 5,476 yards while finishing as the second best quarterback, only behind MVP Aaron Rodgers.
The Bountygate Fallout
Entering the 2012 season, the Bountygate scandal exploded, as the team was caught giving players money in exchange for hurting other players. Following the massive media outrage, the team was hit hard with penalties including suspending head coach Sean Peyton for an entire year and forfeiting multiple draft picks. Over the next few years Drew Brees continued to play excellent football, but the team, due to distractions, suspensions, players leaving, and natural NFL turnover, struggled. Over the next 5 years, the Saints only made the playoffs one time, going 10-6 before losing in the divisional round to the Seahawks in 2013. Every other year, they went 7-9, never bottoming out but continually missing the playoffs.
| Year | Team | Games | Yearly Rank | Tier |
| 2012 | NOR | 16 | 5 | Great |
| 2013 | NOR | 16 | 2 | Elite |
| 2014 | NOR | 16 | 7 | Great |
| 2015 | NOR | 15 | 5 | Elite |
| 2016 | NOR | 16 | 6 | Great |
Drew Brees did everything he could to keep the team afloat, topping 5,000 yards three more times in 2012, 2013, 2016 and was never lower than 4,800 yards. He was consistently one of the best quarterbacks, and while the team struggled his stellar play kept them out of the cellar of the NFL.
The Longevity
In 2017, Drew Brees was entering his 17th year at 38 years old. He was already a lock for the hall of fame and had more 5,000 yard seasons than the rest of NFL history combined, 5 times to 4. While most quarterbacks are thinking about, or are already retired at 38, Brees was still going strong. The next three years, Brees turned back the clock, he finished as the 5th, 2nd, and 4th best quarterback leading the Saints to 3 straight playoff trips.
| Year | Team | Games | Yearly Rank | Tier |
| 2017 | NOR | 16 | 5 | Elite |
| 2018 | NOR | 15 | 2 | All Pro |
| 2019 | NOR | 11 | 4 | Elite |
| 2020 | NOR | 12 | 13 | Good |
Unfortunately, more heartbreak was waiting in the playoffs. In 2017, the Saints lost on a 61 yard walk off touchdown to Stephon Diggs and the Vikings in the divisional round. In 2018, Brees had his best season in 7 years, only to fall to the Rams in the Conference Finals on an egregious blown call by the referees. Over the next two years, Brees wasn’t able to get back to recapture the magic as they only won 1 playoff game. After his 20th season in the NFL Drew Brees retired.
Overview
Drew Brees has one of the longest and most impressive careers in NFL history. While he only has one year as the singular best quarterback, he has an insane amount of time at the very top of the league. Brees finished with 4 All Pro, 6 Elite, and 6 Great seasons, in 16 consecutive years. He is easily a top 10 quarterback of all time, and if you broke his career up into thirds, would be the first, second, and third best Saints quarterback of all time.