The greatest Saints player in franchise history is entering Canton on the first ballot. Brees, a 13-time Pro Bowler who led New Orleans back from the brink to its only Super Bowl title in four years, was the most efficient QB of his era and yet somehow underrated. The diminutive passer was overlooked in an era of short guns Tom Brady and Peyton Manning and flashy pitchers like Aaron Rodgers, but Brees was the most accurate and consistent QB of the era and set new standards rarely reached in today’s game. Brees threw for more than 5,000 yards five times — his 2011 record of 5,476 passing yards was eclipsed by Manning (by one yard) two years later — and finished with a completion rate above 70% seven times, including in his final five seasons. A symbol of the times, Brees was never voted MVP and won just one first-team All-Pro honor, but won two-time Offensive Player of the Year and Comeback Player of the Year in his fourth season in San Diego after being benched the year before. A second-round pick of the Chargers in 2001, Brees left the Bolts after the 2005 season after he separated his pitching shoulder in the season finale and San Diego dealt Philip Rivers. This closes to join Nick Saban’s Dolphins, Brees instead signed with the Saints, who, like the city of New Orleans, were recovering from the devastating effects of Hurricane Katrina. Along with then-coach Sean Payton, Brees revitalized the city and the franchise, taking the Saints to the NFC title game in his first season and leading them to glory over Manning’s Colts in Super Bowl XLIV. Brees and the Saints never reached that peak again but were frequent playoff contenders, winning four straight NFC South titles from 2017-2020 and pulling off a controversial upset call from a likely second Super Bowl berth in 2018. Brees retired after falling to Brady’s Buccaneers in 2020 after his 20th season. His 80,358 yards and 571 passing TDs are behind Brady for second all-time. No longer the bridesmaid, Brees will now cap off his football career by trading in his gold Saints helmet for a gold jacket.