5 NFL players who will fall off a cliff in 2020 season
By John Buhler
15. Scouting Report. QB. Drew Brees. player. Pick Analysis. New Orleans Saints. 3
2020 will be Drew Brees‘ age-41 season. His status as a Pro Football Hall of Famer and a top-10 quarterback all time is cemented, but he’s not coming off one of his better seasons in the slightest. Brees was named a Pro Bowler for the 13th because, well, he always is. However, he didn’t throw for 3,000 yards since he played for the 2003 San Diego Chargers. Let that sink in.
The New Orleans Saints may have gone 8-3 in his 11 starts, but they went 5-0 with Teddy Bridgewater starting in place of him. Despite having an incredible 13-3 record, the Saints weren’t even able to win a playoff game last year. We have to seriously wonder if Brees has enough left in his arm to withstand a 16-game regular-season and potentially a tough playoff run.
With Bridgewater on the Carolina Panthers and Tom Brady joining the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in his free agency, there are no easy outs in the NFC South at the quarterback position. Nobody has played Brees tougher over the years than Matt Ryan of the Atlanta Falcons. While Brees may have the most talented roster in the division again, Tampa Bay and Atlanta will have good teams, too.
It happens all the time when a star quarterback falls off a cliff. It happened to Peyton Manning in 2015. Who knows when it happened to his kid brother Eli Manning if we’re being totally honest about it? It looks to have happened to Philip Rivers in his last year with the Chargers. Ben Roethlisberger only played in two games last year. Maybe it’s the end of Brees in 2020?