Quarterback Drew Brees' 2019 Output with New Orleans Saints - Odds and Predictions

New Orleans Saints general manager Mickey Loomis has once again surrounded his Super Bowl Champ and MVP quarterback Drew Brees with high-quality targets and is protecting the eventual Hall of Famer with one of the best offensive lines in football, so the only conclusion that seems inevitable for this team is another postseason run.

Like few other active players in this league, Brees has turned forty, so of course the doubters and haters are predicting his inevitable downfall will happen sooner rather than later, but the former Purdue Boilermaker and 12x Pro Bowler definitely still has some zip on his throws and the football IQ and experience to get the job done.

Time is running out for Brees to bring home (at least) one more Lombardi Trophy, which would seal his already solid place in NFL history, and he seems set up to do just that in 2019, so we take a look at the odds and predictions of his possible output this season and briefly analyze his chances of success.

Quick Bio: who is Drew Brees?

Drew Christopher Brees is a 40-year-old NFL quarterback who was born in 1979 in Dallas, Texas to attorney Mina Ruth Brees and her trial lawyer husband Eugene Wilson “Chip” Brees II, both former athletes.

After his parents divorced when Brees was seven, he moved to Austin, Texas and became a triple-sport athlete (baseball, basketball, and football) at Westlake High School.

Though Brees didn’t play any tackle football until ninth grade, as a high school quarterback he completed 314-of490 passes (64.1 percent) for 5,461 yards and 50 touchdowns and led his team to a 16-0 record and the state championship.

Despite his impressive high school career, Brees was not heavily recruited and received offers from only two colleges, Purdue and Kentucky, and Brees chose Purdue for its excellent academics and eventually graduated in 2001 with a degree in industrial management.

How did Brees do as a football player at Purdue?

Brees didn’t get much playing time his freshman season, but as a sophomore in 1998, he played in 13 games and completed 361 passes for 3,983 yards and 39 touchdowns with 20 interceptions.

His junior season, Brees was a finalist for the Davey O’Brien Award as the nation’s best quarterback and was fourth in the Heisman Trophy voting (he was third his senior season) and as a senior, he won the Maxwell Award as the nation’s outstanding player of 2000 as well as earning Academic All-American Honors.

Though he had the option to declare for the NFL draft after his junior year, he opted to stay and in 2000 led his Boilermakers to a Big Ten Championship, finishing his college career completing 1,026-of-1,678 passes for 11,792 total yards and 90 touchdowns with 45 interceptions.

Brees set two NCAA records in college, 13 Big Ten Conference records and 19 Purdue University records and in 2009 was inducted into Purdue’s Intercollegiate Athletics Hall of Fame.

When did Brees get drafted into the NFL?

Predicted to be a mid-late first-round draft pick, Brees slipped to the second round due to his relatively short height (6-foot) and a questionable arm and his detractors thought he was only successful during college because he played in a spread offense, which is typically not used in the NFL.

The San Diego Chargers selected Brees with the first pick of the second round (32^nd overall) and was the second quarterback selected behind Virginia Tech’s Michael Vick.

Brees played for the Chargers from 2001 through 2005 and took the team to the playoffs once in 2004 when he lost in the Wild Card playoffs to the New York Jets in overtime, 17-20.

Why did Brees leave the Chargers for the Saints?

In 2005, Brees’ rookie contract was up so he played on the Chargers that year as a franchise player, and when, at the end of that season, the Chargers offered him a 5-year deal worth $50 million that was heavily incentive-based and only paid $2 million the first season, Brees decided to look elsewhere.

The New Orleans Saints offered Brees $10 million in guaranteed money the first year and a $12 million option the second year, so he jumped ship and headed to the bayou.

His decision paid off because in 2006, the Saints offered Brees a 6-year deal worth $60 million and he has been on that New Orleans roster ever since.

How effective has Brees been in the NFL?

Brees’ list of NFL accomplishments are far too many to list here, but the man’s a Super Bowl Champion and MVP, a 12x Pro Bowler, a former first and second-team All-Pro and a 2x NFL Offensive Player of the Year.

In his eighteen NFL seasons, Brees has put up Hall of Fame-worthy numbers – he has completed 6,586-of-9,783 passes for 74,437 total yards and 520 touchdowns with 233 interceptions.

With Brees under center, the New Orleans Saints won Super Bowl XLIV and have been to the playoffs seven different times, twice losing in the NFC Championship game, most recently last season when a blatantly missed pass interference call lost them their chances.

For more details on that game, check out our prior coverage:

Did Refs’ Big No-Call Cost New Orleans Saints The Super Bowl

What NFL awards and newly set records has Brees accumulated?

Again, far too many to list, but here’s a quick sample:

• Most career passing yards (74,437)
• Most career pass completions (6,586)
• Highest career completion percentage (67.3)
• Most consecutive games with a touchdown pass (54)

Will Brees eventually be a Hall of Famer?

One look at his career numbers (and giant Super Bowl ring) will tell you the answer to that question is an emphatic “YES!” and when you consider he is still playing the game and accumulating stats, the yes gets even bigger.

Then add to that Brees’ involvement in the community, including his Dream Foundation to support cancer patients, his heavy involvement in the Hurricane Katrina recovery and his multiple USO tours, and he’s an obvious first-ballot contender.

Consider also Brees’ anti-bullying efforts and his appointment by President Obama to be co-chair of the President’s Council on Fitness, Sports, and Nutrition, and this intelligent, athletic and happily married father of four is as perfect a role model as can be.

How much is Brees now getting paid?

In 2018, Brees and the Saints agreed to a 2-year deal worth $50 million, including a $13 million signing bonus with $27 million of the contract guaranteed.

In 13 seasons with the Saints, Brees has earned $208.5 million, added to the $13.2 million he made with the San Diego Chargers.

Brees will become an unrestricted free agent in the year 2020 when he will be 41-years old.

How did Brees do in 2018?

Brees’ 3,992 total passing yards in 2018 made him the 13^th ranked passer in the league, while his 32 touchdown passes were tied for 6^th and his 5 interceptions were ranked 32^nd, tied with Alex Smith, who only played in ten games due to injury.

With Brees quarterbacking, the Saints posted a 13-3 record and made it to the NFC Conference Playoffs where they were beaten by the Los Angeles Rams in overtime 23-26 (see above).

The biggest beef on Brees last season was that he seemed to lose energy towards the end of the season and in the playoffs and his throws reflected that, and with his threat of going deep apparently eliminated, opposing teams could game plan against the Saints a little easier.

Who are Brees’ main receiving targets in 2019?

Now the top four starting targets for Brees on the Saints’ current roster are:

1. Michael Thomas, a deep threat receiver in his third season who caught 125 passes for 1,405 yards and 9 touchdowns in 16 games for the Saints last year.
2. Ted Ginn, the Saints’ second receiver this season, went down with a knee injury last October, but in 5 games he caught 17 passes for 209 yards and 2 touchdowns.
3. Jared Cook, the recently acquired tight end who caught 68 passes for 896 yards and 6 touchdowns in 16 games for the Oakland Raiders last season.
4. Alvin Kamara, the Saints’ dual-threat running back, who, in addition to rushing 194 times for 883 yards and 14 touchdowns last season, caught 81 passes for 709 yards and 4 touchdowns in 15 games.

It’s important to note that newly signed running back Latavius Murray can also catch the ball, last season posting 22 receptions for 141 yards while playing for the Minnesota Vikings.

On an unfortunate note, this offseason New Orleans released veteran wide receiver Dez Bryant, who tore his Achilles tendon in a practice last November just after signing with the Saints, and though he claims he has not retired, the talented pass-catcher still remains unclaimed for the upcoming season.

How are the New Orleans Saints predicted to do in 2019?

If you are in New Jersey you can bet on the New Orleans Saints futures on 888Sport and BetStars NJ. Find the latest odds below. Good luck!

Based on the current odds that the New Orleans Saints are being given to make the playoffs:

Will the New Orleans Saints make the NFL playoffs in 2019?

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Chances look good that we will see them in the playoffs at the end of the 2019 regular season, and they look pretty good to win the NFC Championship, too.

Given the talent in all three phases of the game of this Saints’ roster right now, it would take some severe injuries to keep Drew Brees and company out of the postseason.

Count on Brees and his Saints to find a way back to the NFL’s Promised Land once again in 2019, and with another Super Bowl ring on his fingers, maybe old man Drew will finally retire and give the younger kids a fighting chance.

For more details on the New Orleans Saints offseason, please check out our prior coverage: The New Orleans Saints’ Biggest Offseason Moves 2019 – Odds and Predictions

What are the current odds and predictions on Brees’s possible 2019 production?

Brees will most likely do in this season what he’s been doing his entire NFL career, taking his team down the field and piling up a respectable amount of passing yards and touchdowns.

If Thomas and Ginn can stay healthy and Cook is everything he appears to be, count on Brees to toss the ball around plenty this season and post up some decent numbers.

Here are Brees’s current odds and predictions for 2019:

Caveat: Brees must play in game one for action to commence.

Drew Brees’ 2019 Regular Season Passing Yards

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Analysis: Over the last thirteen seasons with the Saints, Brees has beaten the over on this bet twelve times, so it stands to reason he will do it again in 2019.

That said, Brees did NOT beat the over last season when he almost took his team to the Super Bowl, so it was a solid year for him (or anyone) but not good enough to win them over here.

Still, be tough to be against Brees being fantastic, so take the over and pray the injury bug leaves this old man and his targets alone.

Drew Brees’ 2019 Regular Season Passing Touchdowns

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Analysis: Brees has beaten the over of this bet ten times in the thirteen seasons he has played with the saints, including last year when he posted 32 touchdowns.

In 2017, however, Brees uncharacteristically threw for just 23 touchdowns, and that’s despite setting (at the time) a career and an NFL record completion percentage of 72.0 (he beat that last season with a mind-blowing 74.4).

Given who he will be throwing the football to, however, Brees is perfectly capable of beating the over on this one unless Father Time finally comes a-calling and slows him way down.