A Look Back At The Career Numbers Of Drew Brees, The Newest New Orleans Saints Hall of Fame Inductee

Inside the Numbers: A look at the eye-popping statistics of Drew Brees, the newest Saints Hall of Famer

John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports

Drew Brees is adding another honor to his growing list of post-career accolades. On Thursday, it was announced that Brees will be inducted into the Saints Hall of Fame. The honor certainly comes as no surprise. It also won't be the last honor bestowed on the former Saints icon, who first becomes eligible for the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2026.

Brees, 45, retired after 20 NFL seasons at the conclusion of the 2020-21 campaign. The final fifteen of those years were spent with the Saints after signing with the team as a free agent in 2006. His first five seasons were spent with the San Diego Chargers after they drafted him with the first choice in the second round of the 2001 NFL Draft following a legendary collegiate career at Purdue.

Brees had a solid career with the Chargers, completing 62.2% of his throws for 12,348 yards with 80 touchdowns and 53 interceptions. He earned one Pro Bowl recognition and guided his team to the postseason once.

After hitting the free agent market in 2006, the Saints signed Brees despite the fact that he was coming off shoulder reconstruction surgery. It was thought that New Orleans was getting a good quarterback to run the system for new head coach Sean Payton. What instead happened wasn't something that even the most fearless prognosticators could have predicted.

Here's a look back at some of the amazing statistics and records of Drew Brees throughout his iconic career.

Completions & Attempts

Sep 26, 2016; New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees (9) throws the ball against the Atlanta Falcons / Chuck Cook-USA TODAY Sports

• 10,551 completions (2nd all-time)
• 7,142 attempts (2nd all-time)
• led NFL in completions 6 times
• set NFL record for completions in a season (468 - 2011)
• set NFL record for completions in a season (471 - 2016)

Brees had many legendary seasons, but 2011 stood out as his best. Among the list of records he set that season was a new mark for completions, a record that he surpassed in 2016. Those two marks have since been passed by Tom Brady (twice) and Justin Herbert, each who each needed a 17-game regular season to do so.

At the time of his retirement, Brees was the NFL's all-time leader in both completions and attempts. He currently sits in second behind Brady, who played an extra three years. Brees also led the league in passing attempts in four different seasons.

Completion Percentage

Dec 8, 2019; New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees (9) throws a pass against the San Francisco 49ers / Chuck Cook-USA TODAY Sports

• 67.7% career completion percentage (2nd all-time)
• 74.4% completion percentage in 2018 (NFL record)
• led the NFL in completion percentage in six seasons (NFL record)

Simply put, there has never been a more accurate passer in the history of the NFL than Drew Brees. Bengals QB Joe Burrow (68%), who has played for just four seasons, is the only passer in league history with a higher career completion percentage.

In 2009, Brees tied the NFL record for completion percentage (70.6%) in a single season. He set a new mark in 2011 with 71.2%. Sam Bradford of the Rams would set a new record in 2016, but Brees would subsequently break that in 2017 with 72%. He'd break his own record the following year with 74.4%, the current league standard.

Passing Touchdowns

Nov 1, 2015; New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees (9) throws a pass against the New York Giants / Matt Bush-USA TODAY Sports

• 571 touchdowns (2nd all-time)
• touchdown pass in 54 consecutive games (NFL record)
• NFL record (tied) for most touchdown passes in a single game (7)
• led NFL in touchdown passes in four different seasons
• 46 touchdowns in 2011 (at the time the fourth highest for a single season)
• 9 consecutive seasons with at least 30 touchdown passes (2008-2016)

Brees was the NFL career leader in touchdown passes when he retired, only surpassed by Brady and his three extra seasons. He is one of only seven quarterbacks in NFL history to have multiple seasons with over 40 touchdown passes. His 46 scoring throws in 2011 are the fifth most in league history.

Brees is one of only eight quarterbacks in NFL history to throw seven touchdowns in a single game. He accomplished the feat in a shootout win over the Giants in 2015 and is the most recent passer to do it. Brees also has one game of six touchdown throws and nine other contests with five touchdown passes.

Perhaps the most impressive record Brees owns is 54 consecutive games with at least one touchdown pass. He surpassed the legendary Johnny Unitas for that mark in 2012, a record Unitas (47) had held since 1960. Brees would subsequently start a new streak once that was broken the following week, going 45 consecutive games with a touchdown strike. Incredibly, Brees would have at least one touchdown pass in 99 out of 100 games between 2009 and 2015.

Passing Yards

Jan 5, 2020; New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees (9) throws a pass against the Minnesota Vikings / John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports

• 80,358 (2nd all-time)
• 5,476 yards in 2011 (2nd in NFL history)
• led NFL in passing yards in seven different seasons (NFL record)
• Five 5,000-yard seasons (NFL record)
• 12 consecutive seasons with at least 4,000 yards passing (NFL record)
• 123 300-yard games (NFL record)
• 16 400-yard games (NFL record)

There have been 15 5,000-yard passing seasons in NFL history. Brees owns five of those seasons. In 2011, his 5,476 yards broke a 27-year league record set by Dan Marino. No quarterback other than Brees has more than one 5,000 yard campaign during a 16-game season.

With his three additional seasons, Brady managed to pass Brees as the league's all-time yardage leader. However, Brees' average of 280 passing yards per game is second in NFL history behind only Patrick Mahomes (296.1) of the Chiefs. Consider that Brees spent the first five years of his career in an extremely conservative offense with San Diego.

Overall

New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees (9) hoists the Lombardi Trophy after defeating the Indianapolis Colts 31-17 in Super Bowl XLIV / Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports

• 172-144 record as starter (.601)
• 142-86 record with Saints (.623)
• Twice NFL Offensive Player of the Year (2008, 2011)
• Super Bowl XLIV MVP
• 13 Pro Bowls

It's still an unfathomable crime that Brees wasn't awarded the NFL MVP Award during his spectacular 2011 campaign. Nonetheless, he was not only among the greatest quarterback of his generation, but entrenched in the conversation as one of the best quarterbacks of all time.

Brees was one of the most prolific passers in NFL history. However, his impact for New Orleans goes far beyond the football field. Brees helped orchestrate a golden era of Saints football unmatched in franchise history. He and his family were also instrumental in rebuilding a Gulf Coast region that had been ravaged by Hurricane Katrina the year before his arrival.

Drew Brees is the most iconic and influential person in the history of New Orleans sports. His induction into the Saints Hall of Fame and other awards forthcoming is more than well-deserved.