Drew Brees is set to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in August of this year. He’ll join with Larry Fitzgerald, Luke Kuechly, Roger Craig and Adam Vinatieri in Canton and be the 27th quaterback inducted.

Over the next five weeks on EssentiallySports, we’re going to honor these five inductees and build a memory wall in our weekly Huddle Overtime newsletter (which you can sign up for here). Every Wedndesdy for the next five weeks, you’ll receiver an email with work from Luke Hubbard and I, highlighting each of these player’s careers.

What better way than to reminisce about the era in which Brees dominated, being the 2000s and early 2010s. Here today, we’re gonna rank the top 10 players of the era in which Brees dominated and give reasons for each ranking. We all know the type of player Brees was; he’s making the HOF, but where does he rank amongst his peers against whom he competed?

Ranking players during 2001-2020

1. Tom Brady

It’s hard not to have the GOAT be first in any list in this era. Which is why he’s first here. Tom Brady, during the time Brees played, won seven Super Bowls and even took Brees down on his quest for his seventh one. Not only did he win seven Super Bowls, but he was also a five-time Super Bowl MVP, three-time NFL MVP, two-time AP Offensive Player of the year, 15-time Pro Bowler, three-time first-team All-Pro and the NFL record holder for career passing yards and touchdowns.

There is a debate where Brady is the “greatest”quaterback in terms of skill, but he’s the winningest quaterback of all time, which is why he’s regarded as the GOAT. He had some down years during this stretch, but for most of it, he was consistent and dominated the NFL at his will.

2. Peyton Manning

When you mention Tom Brady, Peyton Manning isn’t far behind. Whether or not you think Manning was the better quaterback over Brady is a conversation for another day. For this list, we’ll give the GOAT his flowers and give him the NO. 1 spot, but Manning is no doubt right behind him.

Manning is a 14-time Pro Bowler, seven-time All-Pro, five-time NFL MVP, two-time offensive player of the year and two-time Super Bowl champion. A neck injury almost ended his career, but two years later, he threw for 55 touchdowns and won the NFL MVP. No doubt one of the greatest we’ll ever see.

3. JJ Watt

This is my list, so if you disagree with it, that’s fine. JJ Watt may be one of the best defenders I’ve ever seen take the field, and quite frankly, injuries ruined one of the greatest players we’ve ever seen touch the field. Watt was drafted in the 2011 season and quickly became one of the NFL’s most dominant players, winning Defensive Player of the Year three times in his first five seasons in the league.

In the 2014 season, he even finished second in MVP voting, having 20.5 sacks and 29 tackles for loss. Watt isn’t in the Hall of Fame just yet, but is eligible in 2028. Don’t be surprised if he’s a first-ballot, just like Brees.

4. Aaron Rodgers

Try to wipe what you’ve seen from Aaron Rodgers over the past couple of seasons out of your mind. There’s no debate that he’s one of the best quarterbacks ever to touch a football and was dominant throughout Brees’ career. Rodgers is a four-time MVP, four-time All-Pro, 10-time Pro Bowler, Super Bowl champion and one-time Super Bowl MVP. You can debate if he deserved the 2011 MVP over Brees, but he ended up getting it, having 4,643 yards and 45 touchdowns.

Rodgers hasn’t had the playoff success of players like Brady, with the Green Bay Packers not always having the best rosters, but there’s no doubt Rodgers has one of the most talented arms of all time. He deserves to be up here in the top 5 of this list.

5. Calvin Johnson

Calvin Johnson had the second-shortest career on this list, but there’s no doubt he deserves to make the Top 5. He’s a three-time All-Pro and a part of the All-2010s Team. Johnson is already in the HOF, inducted into the 2021 class. He finished his career with 11,619 yards and 83 touchdowns in nine seasons in the NFL.

Johnson is one of the Detroit Lions’ greats and was a headache to defend. We all know the picture of two Saints defenders lining up over him on the goal line, because he was just that dominant around the red zone. We may not see a player like Johnson again, but his legacy is cemented in Canton forever.

6. Drew Brees

Drew Brees settles in just outside the Top 5 of this list. He’s a 13-time Pro Bowler, one-time All-Pro, two-time offensive player of the year and one-time Super Bowl champion with one Super Bowl MVP. Brees was the all-time career passing yards record holder for a bit before Tom Brady broke it.

Still, Brees is known as one of the greatest stories in NFL history, having suffered a catastrophic shoulder injury early in his career that almost forced him to retire. He went on to have one of the most successful careers in NFL history and, no doubt, one of the greatest quarterback careers of all time.

7. Larry Fitzgerald

Another all-time great who’s in the 2026 Hall of Fame class makes this list. Larry Fitzgerald is an 11-time Pro Bowler and one-time All-Pro. Fitzgerald is known to be one of the more reliable receivers in NFL history, and throughout his 17-year career, he has recorded only 29 drops; he has more tackles in his career, with 41.

Fitzgerald spent his entire 17-year career with the Arizona Cardinals and had over 17,000 yards and 121 touchdowns. Fitzgerald never won a Super Bowl but was part of the All-2010s team and won the 2016 Walter Payton Man of the Year award.

8. Luke Kuechly

Just like Calvin Johnson, Luke Kuechly had a shorter career than a lot of these players on the list, but was just as dominant to make it. He’s in the 2026 Hall of Fame class, being a seven-time Pro Bowler, five-time All-Pro and one-time defensive player of the year.

Kuechly was the ninth overall pick in the 2012 NFL Draft and is one of the greatest linebackers of all time. He’s finished his career with 1,092 tackles in his eight-year career.

9. Ed Reed

Ed Reed didn’t last that long into the 2010s, but was one of the scariest defenders in the 2000s. He made the All-2000s Team, was a five-time All-Pro, a nine-time Pro Bowler and the 2004 Defensive Player of the Year. He’s a part of the 2019 Hall of Fame class for how dominant he was in his career.

Safeties typically aren’t valued as much as other positions on the field, but the type of impact Reed had is a reason he’s on this list. He finished his career with 64 interceptions in 12 years in the NFL.

10. Darrelle Revis

Listen, there are a lot of players who could’ve made this last slow. Adrian Peterson was definitely one, but I leaned defensively again. Darrelle Revis was dominant throughout his career and was named to the 2023 Hall of Fame class.

Revis was a seven-time Pro Bowler, four-time All-Pro and one-time Super Bowl champion. His 2009 season was legendary, with 31 passes defensed and finishing second in the defensive player of the year voting as a corner.