Drew Bree, New Orleans Saints
Now approaching his 20th NFL season, 16 with the Saints, at age 41, Drew Brees has a tremendous amount of pressure on him to go out on top like Peyton Manning before him.
Brees won a Super Bowl with the team in the 2009 season but has experienced some of the worst possible postseason luck imaginable, including the Minneapolis Miracle, the Beast Mode run, the infamous Rams’ missed pass interference call, and most recently Kirk Cousins’ first playoff victory.
He has already made plans post-retirement to become an announcer for NBC whenever that might be, but the Saints have been gearing for what might be his last year in 2020.
Despite missingfive5 games and having noticeably less arm strength than in years past, Brees posted the second-highest quarterback grade in the NFL according to Pro Football Focus with an offensive mark of 90.7. He continues to set the precedent for otherworldly passing numbers, including holding the record for most passing touchdowns in a career, most passing yards in a career, and highest completion percentage in a season by a mile.
Obviously it helps to have the reigning Offensive Player of the Year, Michael Thomas, at your disposal, but it can be argued the Thomas is a product of Brees’ play and not vice versa. Thomas broke the NFL record for most receptions in a season with 149 and nearly doubled the next highest receiver on his team in terms of overall targets.
This year, Brees’ number two wideout will be seasoned veteran Emmanuel Sanders, and all-purpose back Alvin Kamara will be playing at full strength after tearing an MCL midway through last season. Brees played in 11 games last year but didn’t crack 3,000 passing yards, understanding his role of throwing short passes to the middle of the field and controlling the clock with a strong running game.
If this really is Brees’ last season, he’ll have to throw farther downfield while continuing to play turnover-free football if the Saints are going to make one final playoff push for their Canton-bound superstar.
Prediction: 3,800 passing yards, 31 touchdowns, 6 interceptions, 73% accuracy, 1 rushing touchdown
