​We are down to single-digit days before the New Orleans Saints’ 2026 season opener. New Orleans travels north to kick off the year in nine days when it plays on the road against the Detroit Lions on Sunday, Sept. 13. There have been five players in Saints history to wear the No. 9 uniform. No one in the history of the NFL wore it better than Drew Brees. With no New Orleans player wearing No. 9, probably (hopefully) ever again, Brees was an easy choice for our Saints Player of the Day feature.Name (age): Drew Brees (47)Hometown: Austin, TexasPosition: QuarterbackHeight, weight: 6-foot, 209 poundsCollege: Purdue BoilermakersDrafted: Round 2, 32nd overall in 2001 (San Diego Chargers)NFL career: 20 years (15 with Saints)At Austin Westlake High School in Austin, Texas, Brees received collegiate interest in both football and baseball. After an ACL injury in his junior year, most of the remaining recruiting interest shifted to football, where the all-state honorable mention and state champion quarterback eventually chose Purdue. Brees saw only moderate action for the Boilermakers as a freshman in 1997, but the following year would lead the Big Ten in passing yards (3,753), touchdowns (36), completion percentage (65.1), and completions (336). His statistics dipped a bit in 1999 with one less game, but he still led the conference in yards, completions, and attempts.Brees led Purdue to its first-ever Big Ten championship and Rose Bowl berth in 2000, leading the Big Ten with 3,393 passing yards, 24 touchdowns, 286 completions, and a 60.5% completion percentage. He was the 2000 Big Ten Player of the Year, won the Maxwell Award as the nation’s most outstanding player, was a finalist for the Davey O’Brien Award, and finished fourth in the Heisman Trophy voting. He’d leave Purdue as the Big Ten all-time career leader in passing yardage, total yards, passing touchdowns, completions, and attempts. In 2009, Brees was inducted into the Purdue Athletics Hall of Fame.After the San Diego Chargers traded the first overall choice in the 2001 NFL draft, quarterback Michael Vick, to the Atlanta Falcons for fifth overall choice LaDainian Tomlinson, the Chargers then selected Brees with the first choice of the second round (Thanks, Atlanta!). As a rookie, Brees appeared in only one game in mop-up duty, but won the Chargers starting job in 2002. He’d split time with Doug Flutie in 2003, starting 11 contests with a 2-9 record but also getting benched for Flutie during the year. San Diego pulled off a trade for quarterback Philip Rivers in Round 1 of the 2004 NFL draft, but Brees held the first-rounder off for the starting job. Brees led the Chargers to a 12-4 record and an AFC West title that year, winning the 2004 NFL Comeback Player of the Year. He completed 65.5% of his throws for 3,576 yards with 24 touchdowns to earn the award.Brees and the Chargers weren’t as effective in 2005, falling to a 9-7 record and missing the playoffs. In a season-ending loss to Denver, Brees s