New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees was an MVP candidate last season, breaking his own efficiency records to lead the league in a number of passing stats. But some ugly games down the stretch are glaring in the eyes of NBC Sports’ Chris Simms, who ranked Brees behind nine other passers from around the league — and two from within the NFC South. The franchise leader in every Saints passing statistic is ranked at the No. 10 spot.
Simms is putting a lot of stock in Brees’ decline, knocking the quarterback for his age (Brees turned 40 back in January) and a series of poor performances late in the 2018 season. After starting the year with 29 touchdown passes to just two interceptions in his first eleven games, a disastrous prime time outing against the Dallas Cowboys sent Brees into a regressive spiral. He completed as many touchdown throws (three) as interceptions he threw away (three) in his final four games, sitting out a meaningless Week 17 regular season finale.
Still, Simms is taking a bold stance by ranking Brees so low. Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton, fresh off the heels of surgery on his throwing arm, is ranked above Brees. So is Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan, who still hasn’t returned to form since his team lost then-offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan to the San Francisco 49ers. Other somewhat-unproven quantities like Deshaun Watson, Andrew Luck, and to an extent Patrick Mahomes (who may not have his top receiver, Tyreek Hill, following a serious child abuse investigation) are also put up above Brees.
We’ll see if this gambit paves off, and whether Simms’ hot take was well-advised or simply fodder for spicing up the offseason. The Saints are making just as big a bet that Brees will return to MVP-caliber form by having done little to upgrade is wide receiver corps, and trusting him to thrive with a new center.
