A Texas native, Drew Brees wanted to play football in his home state. But like the rest of his football journey, Brees took a fortuitous detour to Indiana, where he went to star in college at Purdue.
After lighting it up for the Boilermakers, Brees eventually ascended to a Hall of Fame career in the NFL. So, it’s no surprise that Brees will have plenty of people to thank in his induction speech, set to take place in Canton on Saturday. Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton, his head coach at New Orleans, will introduce Brees at the ceremony.
Joining Brees on stage as part of this year’s Hall of Fame class include Roger Craig, Larry Fitzgerald, Adam Vinatieri and Luke Kuechly.
“The way I really look at it is, this is my opportunity to convey my appreciation, gratitude to so many of the people and places that were a part of this journey,” Brees told reporters this week. “That’s what I’m most looking forward to, is all the people I’m going to have a chance to see and appreciate and let them know just how valued they are.”
Standing at exactly 6 feet tall and weighing 209 pounds, Brees did not have the ideal stature of a quarterback. But through grit, a relentless work ethic and cerebral approach to the game, Brees developed into a 13-time Pro Bowler and Super Bowl champion.
Brees pointed to creating a culture of connectivity that led to sustainable winning during his time in the league, which included stints with the San Diego Chargers and New Orleans Saints.
“So much of my thought process each and every season was how do you recreate so much connectivity and chemistry with the guys that are on your side of the ball,” Brees said. “And then the team dynamics. How are we feeding off each other and how are we complementing each other? To me, that’s where a lot of the magic lies on a team is just how you build that chemistry. And how you build those relationships.”
Now, let’s look at the 10 best moments from Brees’ Hall of Fame career.
10. Winning Comeback Player Of The Year In 2004
Brees’ tenure with the San Diego Chargers was a bit more successful than some might have remembered. After the Chargers took him with the first pick in the second round of the 2001 NFL Draft, Brees earned the starting job a year later in 2002. He went 8-8 that year before going 2-9 as a starter in 2003.
With Brees and the Chargers struggling in 2003, San Diego selected Philip Rivers in the first round of the 2004 NFL Draft. But Brees not only fended off Rivers for the starting job in each of the next two seasons, he also led the Chargers to the playoffs for the first time in seven years in 2004. He won the Associated Press Comeback Player of the Year award for his play that season before going 9-7 as a starter in 2005.
Brees finished his time in San Diego with a 30-28 record as a starter. He completed 62.2% of his passes for 12,348 yards, with 80 touchdown passes and 53 interceptions.
9. Gold Jacket Connection: Brees Catches TD From LT
An underrated athlete and accomplished basketball player in high school, Brees got to show off his skills when he caught a 21-yard touchdown pass for a score from fellow Hall of Famer LaDainian Tomlinson during a Week 4 contest against the Raiders in 2003. It was one of seven touchdown passes the multi-talented Tomlinson threw in his NFL career, and it was one of the eight receptions Brees made in his career.
8. Eclipsing Johnny Unitas’ Record For Consecutive Games With A TD Pass
Breaking a record by Unitas that lasted in the record books for 52 years, Brees completed a touchdown pass in 54 consecutive games between the 2009 and 2012 seasons. Brees threw the touchdown that broke Unitas’ record of 47 games against his former team, the Chargers, in Week 5 of the 2012 season with a 40-yard touchdown to Devery Henderson in the Superdome, giving him 48 at that time. His record of 54 consecutive games with a touchdown pass still stands.
7. Becoming The First QB To Throw For 5,000 Yards In Over 20 Years
Dan Marino was the first quarterback to throw for over 5,000 yards, totaling 5,084 passing yards in 1984. But Brees became the second quarterback to accomplish that feat when he threw for 5.069 yards in 2008. And he produced one of the most prolific seasons three years later, completing 71.2% of his passes for a career-high 5,476 yards, with 46 touchdown passes and a 110.6 passer rating in 2011. Brees holds the NFL record by eclipsing 5,000 passing yards in five different seasons.
6. Setting The NFL’s Single-Season Record For Completion Percentage
Accuracy is an important statistic NFL scouts and talent evaluators consider when assessing if a quarterback can make the transition to the pros. And while smaller in stature, Brees was the gold standard for moving inside the pocket and finding throwing lanes between linemen to push the ball down the field.
Brees holds the NFL record for completion percentage in a single season, completing 74.4% of his passes in 2018. Brees actually holds three of the top five season marks for completion percentage in a season. His 67.7% career completion percentage is the third-best mark in NFL history.
5. Leading Saints To Victory In First New Orleans Game After Hurricane Katrina
Brees’ first home game with the Saints was one their fans will remember for ages. After Hurricane Katrina displaced the Saints for the 2005 season, they returned to the Superdome for the first time in Week 3 of the 2006 season. They decisively defeated the Atlanta Falcons, 23-3, with Steve Gleason’s punt block that led to a touchdown return serving as the memorable moment from that game.
Brees didn’t put up terrific numbers, but he gave New Orleans a steady hand that night. He threw for 191 yards, leading his team to four scoring drives.
4. Surpassing Peyton Manning For Most TD Passes Ever
For about a year, no quarterback had more regular-season touchdown passes than Brees. In Week 15 of the 2019 season, Brees threw his 540th career touchdown pass on a throw to tight end Josh Hill. The touchdown pass broke Peyton Manning’s record for the most regular-season touchdown passes in NFL history, and it came against one of Manning’s former teams, the Indianapolis Colts. Brees’ pass to Hill was also his 20th-straight completion in that game.
Tom Brady wound up breaking Brees’ record in 2020.
3. Breaking The NFL’s All-Time Passing Yards Record
A year before Brees set the touchdown passes record, he broke the NFL’s all-time passing yards record. He also surpassed Manning for that record when he threw a 62-yard touchdown pass to Tre’Quan Smith in Week 5 of the 2018 season.
Brees would finish his NFL career with 80,358 passing yards, becoming the first quarterback in NFL history to throw for 80,000 yards. When he retired in 2020, Brees was the NFL’s all-time leader in passing yardage, completions (7,142) and passing attempts (10,551). Brady wound up breaking those marks in the following seasons.
2. Helping Saints Reach NFC Title Game In Year 1
Brees’ tenure with the Chargers ended with him suffering a devastating shoulder injury, leading the team to part ways with him as a free agent in the 2006 offseason. But that opened the door for a move that helped change the course of NFL history. After the Miami Dolphins were urged by team doctors not to sign Brees due to his recent shoulder surgery, the Saints picked up the quarterback in March 2006.
The Saints were rewarded for taking on a significant risk. He led the team to a 10-6 record in his first year and was named first-team All-Pro. Brees threw for 243 yards and a touchdown in the Saints’ 27-24 divisional round win, helping the team secure their NFC Championship Game appearance. They lost to the Chicago Bears in that game.
1. Delivering First Super Bowl To New Orleans and Winning MVP
The defining moment of Brees’ career came in the 2009 season. Four years into his New Orleans tenure, Brees helped the Saints get over the hump when they defeated the Colts in Super Bowl XLIV. His 32 completions were tied for the most in a Super Bowl at the time, and Brees won Super Bowl MVP as he threw for 288 yards and two touchdowns in that game.
