Here’s a throwback for New Orleans Saints fans. With the 2023 NFL draft in sight, it’s a good time to look back on Drew Brees’ 2016 appearance on the Dan Patrick Show, in which the future Hall of Famer read back some of the strengths and weaknesses that pro scouts had written down in his draft profile.
It’s an interesting look at some of the flaws Brees carried with him from his college days at Purdue, and which persisted with the Chargers before he revitalized his career in New Orleans.
“‘Tends to side-arm his passes going deep,'” Brees began, raising a skeptical eyebrow. “‘Lacks accuracy and touch on his long throws. Seems more comfortable in these short-intermediate passing attacks.’ Well that’s the whole design of the spread offense.”
Brees is widely regarded as the most accurate passer of all time, having devastated opposing defenses for years with his pinpoint throws to targets downfield with the Saints. He helped still-developing talents coming out of college like Devery Henderson and Jimmy Graham become threats to score nearly every time they touched the football.
But the next bit of criticism still stung. Brees grimaced, chuckling darkly: “‘Does not possess the ideal height you look for in a pro passer?’ Oh, what? I didn’t think that was coming.”
Along with his rare accuracy and signature birthmark, Brees is also known for his subpar height (by pro standards). There’s the story of his weigh-in at the NFL Scouting Combine still floating around, in which Brees allegedly glared at the league examiner measuring him until the score was changed from an initial 5-foot-11 and 7/8 of an inch to this official reading of 6-foot-0 and 1/4 of an inch. He continued down the scouting report.
“‘Though his ability to scan the field does help him compensate in (lacking height). Will improvise and run when the passing lanes are clogged but tends to run through defenders rather than try to avoid them to prevent unnecessary punishment.'” Brees paused, wryly gesturing at his slight frame, “But here’s the thing, Dan, when you look like this, why (is that a negative)? Just, why?”
Patrick laughed in agreement, pointing out that when Brees took off on the run, he sometimes looked like Cam Newton. That dynamic element with his legs became more limited to the pocket as Brees aged, but his agility in a small space remained a strength even in his final years in the league.
It goes to show that a college scouting report isn’t the end-all, be-all of analyzing a player’s strengths and weaknesses. They can put in the work to change their game and develop further, especially after turning pro and getting access to resources and coaching that wasn’t available at the college level. Brees overcame his flaws and a career-threatening injury to rank among the best quarterbacks of all time. Maybe some of the rookies in this 2023 draft class can take a similar path to success.
