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Hall of Fame welcomes Drew Brees in first year of eligibility
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- Hall of Fame welcomes Drew Brees in first year of eligibility
It was his fourth NFL season when Drew Brees established himself as a Pro Bowl quarterback and a budding star.
It only took one year of eligibility for Brees to become a Pro Football Hall of Famer .
The No. 2 passer in NFL history when it comes to yards and touchdowns is a first-ballot Hall of Famer. Brees' selection was announced Thursday night, Feb. 5 during the NFL Honors telecast.
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Drew Brees ' stats & Hall of Fame credentials
A native Texan and a Purdue University product, Brees spent 20 years in the NFL and was selected to 13 Pro Bowls. He was the first pick of the second round in the 2001 NFL Draft by the San Diego Chargers, for whom he played his first five years. Then he was allowed to walk in free agency after suffering a major shoulder injury.
It was on to New Orleans , where Brees' career rocketed into the stratosphere after signing with the Saints . Brees led the NFL in passing yards with 4,418 in that first of 15 seasons with the Saints in 2006. He'd total at least 4,334 yards each of his first 12 seasons in New Orleans, leading the league seven times. He led the league in TD passes four times and still holds the NFL record for consecutive games with a touchdown pass at 54.
He also turned New Orleans into a winner.
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Brees led the Saints to an upset 31-17 win over Peyton Manning 's Indianapolis Colts in Super Bowl 44, earning MVP honors as he completed 32 of 39 passes for 288 yards and two touchdowns. It is the franchise's one and only championship.
With Brees, the Saints won seven division titles, made nine playoff appearances and advanced to three NFC championship games. Before his arrival, the franchise totaled seven winning seasons, five playoff appearances and one postseason victory in 39 years.
Saints QB Drew Brees holds up the Vince Lombardi Trophy after defeating the Colts in Super Bowl XLIV, Feb. 7, 2010, in Miami Gardens, Florida.
The 6-foot, 209-pound Brees reached career highs of 5,476 yards and 46 touchdowns in 2011, a season that marked his second Associated Press NFL Offensive Player of the Year selection to go with the one he won in 2008.
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Among his other honors were the 2004 Comeback Player of the Year, the 2006 Walter Payton Man of the Year and the 2009 Bert Bell Award, given to the NFL's player of the year by the Maxwell Football Club. Brees finished second in NFL MVP voting four times.
Saints QB Drew Brees reacts after throwing a 62-yard pass against Washington to break the all-time yardage record, Oct. 8, 2018, in New Orleans.
He's the first first-ballot hall of famer at quarterback since Manning was enshrined in 2021.
Brees' career passing numbers of 80,358 yards and 571 TDs trail only Tom Brady in NFL history (89,214 yards, 649 TDs). He's also second in pass completions and attempts.
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This article originally appeared on The Repository: Drew Brees becomes first-ballot Pro Football Hall of Fame selection
