Drew Brees is No. 1 on Our List of All-Time Greatest Purdue Draft Picks
Editor's Note: This is the tenth and final story on our countdown of the 10-best Purdue draft picks in NFL history, and premiering at No. 1 is quarterback Drew Brees.
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — To think that Drew Brees only received two Division I scholarship offers is laughable, as is the fact that doubters have always said he was too short to excel at the next level as a quarterback.
He's proved everyone wrong, year after year after year.
Brees checks in as the No. 1 NFL Draft pick from Purdue of all time in our series. He was selected in the second round, with the 32nd overall draft pick, by the San Diego Chargers in the 2001 NFL Draft after a brilliant college career in West Lafayette.
Brees has the advantage of still playing in the league, as he sets his sights on the upcoming season, which will be his 20th campaign. Having said that, what Brees has accomplished and posted in the record books thus far is still the most remarkable accomplishment by a former Purdue football player that anyone has ever seen.
Brees already holds NFL records for career pass completions, completion percentage, passing yards and touchdowns passes. He also ranks first in highest single-season completion percentage, most consecutive games with a touchdown pass, most pass completions in a season, most 5,000-yard passing seasons, highest completion percentage in a game, and tied for most touchdown passes in a game.
He also is a seven-time NFL passing yards leader, six-time completion percentage leader and four-time passing touchdowns leader. He will inevitably be donned as one o the greatest quarterbacks to ever play the game.
What Drew Brees did at Purdue
After only receiving two Division I offers, Purdue and Kentucky, the Texas native decided to head to West Lafayette, Ind. to play collegiately and pursue an education. Brees was a member of legendary Purdue head coach Joe Tiller's first recruiting class.
Brees was given the nod as starting quarterback his sophomore year in 1998 and after that, Purdue football returned to prominence. That year, Brees set Boilermaker and Big Ten records in passing attempts (569), completions (361), and touchdowns (39).
At the time, he set records in passing yards (3,983) and total offense (4,176) that have since been broken.
In the three years Brees was under center for Purdue, he led the Boilermakers to three bowl game appearances. In 1998, Purdue was victorious in the Alamo Bowl against No. 4-ranked Kansas State 37-34, where Brees was named offensive MVP of the game. A year later, the Boilermakers made an appearance in the Outback Bowl versus Georgia, which they lost 28-25, but Brees was still named MVP of the contest.
Brees returned to school for the 2000 season and it became one of the most memorable for Purdue fans. The Boilermakers were able to upset top-ranked Ohio State and Michigan in last-minute comeback fashion, which propelled them to a share of their first Big Ten Championship since 1967. Purdue made a Rose Bowl appearance, but fell to Washington.
Brees took home the hardware, the Maxwell Award, for the honor of nation's outstanding player of 2000, Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year, the "Chicago Tribune" Silver Football as the Big Ten Most Valuable Player and he finished third in the Heisman Trophy voting that season, as well. Brees also was named Academic All-American of the Year.
During his time in college, he established two NCAA records, 13 Big Ten Conference records and 19 Purdue records.He was a two-time Heisman Trophy finalist, two-time Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year and two-time first team all-conference selection.
Brees still ranks first in completions (1,026) and passing yards (11,792) on the Big Ten career list. In 2009, he was into the Purdue Intercollegiate Athletics Hall of Fame.
What Drew Brees has done in the NFL
Brees spent his first five years in San Diego with the Chargers. He backed up Doug Flutie his rookie season. Brees started 27 games the next two seasons, but had his struggles early on throwing for 28 touchdowns on top of 31 interceptions in that span.
In 2004, the pressure was put on Brees when the Chargers acquired Phillip Rivers in the NFL Draft. Brees won the starting job, however, and led San Diego to a 12-4 regular season record, including clinching the AFC West for the first time in a decade. Brees completed 65% of his passes for 3,159 yards and added 27 touchdowns to just a mere seven interceptions. Brees was selected to his first Pro Bowl and was named NFL Comeback Player of the Year.
At the end of the 2005 season, Brees tore his labrum in his throwing shoulder and because of that, the Chargers didn't increase their offer to re-sign him, so he tested the waters of free agency. Brees signed with the New Orleans Saints, which was an interesting move heading south to a city that was cleaning up the destruction of Hurricane Katrina and the team had just hired their new head coach, Sean Payton.
The move turned out to be a perfect fit for both Brees and the Saints. Most notably, Brees led New Orleans to a 13-3 record, finishing the regular season by being named a Pro Bowler, and a runner-up in voting for the AP MVP, Offensive Player of the Year, and All-Pro honors. Brees and the Saints made it to Super Bowl XLIV and were victorious over the Indianapolis Colts 31-17. Brees won Super Bowl MVP and tied a Super Bowl record with 32 completions and he added 288 yards and two touchdowns, leading the Saints to their first league championship in franchise history.
Brees has been named to 13 Pro Bowls, once as a first-team All-Pro selection in 2006, and four times a second-team All-Pro selection. He also received the honor of NFL Offensive Player of the Year twice. Since Brees has joined the Saints, he has led all NFL quarterbacks in touchdowns, passing yards and 300-yard passing games.
Related stories in our series
- No. 2: Rod Woodson, a Freak Of Nature: One of the best defensive backs to ever play in the NFL. CLICK HERE
- No. 3: Bob Griese, Undefeated And Undaunted: Quarterbacked the only undefeated NFL team ever. CLICK HERE
- No. 4: Len Dawson, a True Legend Of the Game: One of the most accomplished quarterbacks in Purdue history. CLICK HERE
- No. 5: Mike Alstott, the 'A-Train,' Was Never Derailed: One of the most physical and bruising runners of all-time. CLICK HERE
- No. 6: Erich Barnes, the Versatile Ballhawk: The oversized, physical cornerback spent nearly half his career as a Pro Bowler. CLICK HERE
- No. 7: Dave Butz, the Accomplished Giant: The 1983 NFL Defensive Player of the Year went down as one of the best interior linemen of all time. CLICK HERE
- No. 8: Dick Barwegan, One Of the Best In the Trenches: A NFL 1950s All-Decade member that deserves to be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. CLICK HERE
- No. 9: Cecil Isbell, the Human Swiss Army Knife: The only NFL All-Decade quarterback not in the Pro Football Hall of Fame happens to be from Purdue. CLICK HERE
- No. 10: Former Boiler Matt Light Becomes a Champion: Matt Light blocked for Purdue-great Drew Brees and then went on to protect Tom Brady. CLICK HERE
Follow Purdue football coverage here
- Sports Illustrated Purdue: Hit the follow button in the top right corner to see all of our great Purdue coverage all season.
- Facebook: Like our Purdue page on Facebook at Facebook.com/SportsIllustratedPurdue
- Twitter: Follow all of our coverage on Twitter @sports_Purdue
