Drew Brees believes he'd instantly be a top-three game analyst

Drew Brees spent the 2021 season with NBC. He served as the booth analyst for two NFL games.

That's what he wants to do. He'll get the chance with Netflix on Christmas Day. And he believes he'll do very well.

"I get the feeling that the perception is that somehow, you know, I failed at being a broadcaster," Brees said Friday, in an appearance with Dan Patrick. "I got two opportunities to broadcast NFL games, and they were like eight weeks apart. I did one game in New Orleans for Thanksgiving, and I did one playoff game. Otherwise, I did - I broadcasted Notre Dame football.

'"What I really did for the most part was sit behind a desk and do . . . Football Night in America, and then, you know, a bunch of stuff in stadium at the desk, and then the Super Bowl broadcast. But again, at the desk.

"So, at the end of the day, like, I chuckle because even as I look at the landscape right now, I mean, I have so much respect for a lot of guys in the booth right now, but I'd step in the booth right now and be a top-three guy. Like, without question. And then you give me a few years, and I could be the best."

It's a very bold claim that he'd instantly be in the top three. That means (math is hard) only two would be better than him. It's even bolder to say that, within a few years, he'd be the best.

Maybe he could be.

'"So, look, I love the game, I love talking about the game," Brees said. "I feel like I have an insight to the game that is pretty unique, you know, given my playing experience, I see the game a totally different way. I process it a different way. And so even as I watch games now, and I just kind of listen to, you know, the commentary and this and that, and what I'm seeing, I just feel like there's so much more to add. And so, look, at the end of the day, I'm gonna wait for the right opportunity. and, you know, hopefully it comes along, and if it doesn't, that's OK, too, because I'm coaching ball, and I'm involved in the game in so many other ways. But I do feel like I have a ton of value to add in the booth. And so I'm appreciative of Netflix giving me the opportunity to broadcast on Christmas Day, and I'm not sure exactly which game that can be there. There's two on the slate, but that'll be a lot of fun."

The key, as Dan said in response, is reps. Reps and reps and reps. He could get a spot on the CBS or Fox Sunday afternoon depth chart. If he is instantly one of the top three NFL broadcasters on any network, he won't stay on the third or fourth CBS/Fox team for long.

The problem is the best seats don't come open very often. At NBC, it's Cris Collinsworth. At Fox, it's Tom Brady. At CBS, it's Tony Romo. At ESPN/ABC, it's Troy Aikman. At Amazon, it's Kirk Herbstreit. (Also, Fox's Greg Olsen has a perpetual donut on his Louisville Slugger in the batter's box.)

While Brady and Romo were basically handed their positions without having to work their way into them, that doesn't happen often. Yes, the work and the travel may be a burden. The money (on the Sunday afternoon undercard) may not be much. But that's how it goes in the NFL.

Rarely does lightning strike. If Brees believes he can be one of the best, he needs the reps, the reps, and the reps. Doing the Christmas Day game on Netflix because the other networks won't loan their "A"-team analysts isn't the way to get there. Doing as many games as he can every season and letting the results speak for themselves is the path.