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Drew Brees will become the 28th quarterback to enter the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Saturday in what the Hall defines as its 'modern era' (after 1945).
Brees ranks second in NFL history with 80,358 passing yards and 571 TDs. Where does that land him on a list with the greatest QBs to play the position?
That's a little more complicated. How do you stack up statistics, Super Bowls across the different decades with those 28 quarterbacks? Where does Brees fit in? Keep in mind more QBs – including Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers and perhaps Ben Roethlisberger and Eli Manning – will be joining this list in the near future.
MORE: Meet the 2026 Pro Football Hall of Fame class
28. George Blanda (1949-58, 60-75)
Passing stats: 26,920 yards, 236 TDs, 277 INTs
Blanda played 26 seasons – Blanda's career stretched four decades because he also played kicker, and he did win three AFL championships. He's a unicorn of sorts on this list because of that longevity.
27. Joe Namath (1965-77)
Passing stats: 27,663 yards, 173 TDs, 220 INTs
Namath made "The Guarantee" before leading the Jets to a victory in Super Bowl III against the Colts, which had huge implications with the AFL-NFL merger. "Broadway Joe" had a 62-63-4 record as a starter, but personality counts for something.
SN 140: Joe Namath makes good on his Super Bowl guarantee
26. Kenny Stabler (1970-84)
Passing stats: 27,938 yards, 194 TDs, 222 INTs
"The Snake" didn't always have the greatest stats, but like Namath he was a cult icon of the 70s – and he had a 94-49-1 record as a starter. Stabler found ways to win, and he led the Raiders to a victory in Super Bowl XI.
25. Sonny Jurgensen (1957-74)
Passing stats: 32,224 yards, 189 TDs, 99 INTs
Jurgensen enjoyed a prolific 18-year career with Philadelphia and Washington. Jurgensen spent the early part of his career as a backup before emerging as a star quarterback. He was a five-time Pro Bowl selection.
24. Bob Waterfield (1945-52)
Passing stats: 11,849 yards, 97 TDs, 128 INTs
Waterfield is on the fringe of the modern era. He led the NFL in passing yards twice. He won a pair of NFL championships – one with the Cleveland Rams and one with the Los Angeles Rams. He also won the NFL MVP award in 1945 and was a contributor as a kicker and punter.
23. Bob Griese (1967-80)
Passing stats: 25,092 yards, 192 TDs, 172 INTs
Griese didn't put up gaudy numbers, but he was the leader of two Super Bowl-championship teams in Miami. That included the 17-0 team in 1972. Griese was an eight-time Pro Bowl selection.
SN 140: Dolphins finish off perfect season in Super Bowl
22. Bobby Layne (1948-62)
Passing stats: 26,768 yards, 196 TDs, 243 INTs
Layne – a six-time Pro Bowl selection – won three NFL championships with the Detroit Lions in a decade in which six future Hall of Fame quarterbacks were on the field. He had a 80-48-1 record as a starter and a 3-1 record in the playoffs.
21. Len Dawson (1957-1975)
Passing stats: 28,711 yards, 239 TDs, 183 INTs
Dawson enjoyed a productive career with the Chiefs that included a victory in Super Bowl IV against Minnesota in which he earned Super Bowl MVP honors. Dawson – a seven-time Pro Bowl selection – was another efficient passer that legitimized the AFL-NFL merger.
20. Dan Fouts (1973-87)
Passing stats: 43,040 yards, 254 TDs, 242 INTs
Fouts is the first 40,000-yard passer on this list. He helped bring the "Air Coryell" offense to life. Fouts was a mainstay for the San Diego Chargers teams in the 1970s and 80s. Fouts didn't make a Super Bowl, but he had five 300-yard performances in seven career playoff games.
19. Warren Moon (1984-2000)
Passing stats: 49,325 yards, 291 TDs, 233 INTs
Moon put up monster numbers in Houston and a few other stops during a productive 17-year career. He made the Run-and-Shoot offense with the Oilers popular in the 1990s. Moon – a nine-time Pro Bowl selection – had a 3-7 record in the playoffs.
18. Jim Kelly (1986-1996)
Passing stats: 35,467 yards, 237 TDs, 175 INTs
Kelly mastered the "K-Gun in Buffalo" and led the Bills to four Super Bowl appearances in the 1990s. Kelly had a 101-59 record as a starter with a 9-8 record in the playoffs. He remains a fan favorite in Buffalo to this day.
17. Y.A. Tittle (1948-1964)
Passing stats: 33,070 yards, 242 TDs, 248 INTs
Tittle is one of the NFL's post-World War II icons. The seven-time Pro Bowl selection led the NFL in TD passes three times. Tittle earned AP NFL MVP honors as a 37-year-old quarterback for the New York Giants in 1963.
18. Kurt Warner (1998-2009)
Passing stats: 32,344 yards, 208 TDs, 128 INTs
Warner was the ringmaster of the "Greatest Show on Turf" and won two AP NFL MVP awards. Warner won Super Bowl XXXIV with the Rams and reached Super Bowl XLIII with the Cardinals. He led the NFL in TDs in 1999 and 2001 and had a career passer rating of 93.7.
15. Norm Van Brocklin (1949-60)
Passing stats: 23,611 passing yards, 173 TDs, 178 INTs
Van Brocklin still holds the single-game passing record from that time he put up 554 yards on Sept. 28, 1951. Van Brocklin won two NFL championships – one with the Rams and one with the Eagles – and is still considered a pioneer in the passing game.
14. Bart Starr (1956-1971)
Passing stats: 24,718 yards, 152 TDs, 138 INTs
Starr helped the Packers win five championships during the Vince Lombardi heyday in the 1960s, including three straight titles from 1965-67. Starr – who was 9-1 as a starter in the postseason and a two-time Super Bowl MVP – is best-remembered for the quarterback sneak in the "Ice Bowl" against Dallas in the 1967 NFC championship game.
13. Troy Aikman (1989-2000)
Passing stats: 32,942 yards, 165 TDs, 141 INTs
Aikman won three Super Bowls and earned Super Bowl MVP XXVII honors as part of the Cowboys' dynasty that ruled the 1990s. Aikman had 17 TDs and four interceptions in those three Super Bowl playoff runs. He was a six-time Pro Bowl selection.
12. Fran Tarkenton (1961-1978)
Passing stats: 47,003 yards, 342 TDs, 266 INTs
Tarkenton, a trend-setter when it came to extending plays by scrambling, played in four Super Bowls for the Vikings and compiled an amazing career. He was a nine-time Pro Bowl selection and was named AP NFL MVP in 1975.
11. Roger Staubach (1969-79)
Passing stats: 22,700 yards, 153 TDs, 109 INTs
"Captain America" won two Super Bowls, reached six Pro Bowls and played with an improv style that made him impossible not to love — unless, of course, you were a Steelers fan. Staubach, however, remains the standard for Dallas quarterbacks to follow.
10. Terry Bradshaw (1970-83)
Passing stats: 27,989 yards, 212 TDs, 210 INTs
Bradshaw is one of two quarterbacks on this list with four Super Bowl championships, and he was the distributor for the Steelers' dynasty in the 1970s. Bradshaw was a two-time Super Bowl MVP and earned the AP NFL MVP in 1978. Bradshaw averaged 233 yards with nine TDs and four interceptions in those four Super Bowl appearances.
9. Steve Young (1985-99)
Passing stats: 33,124 yards, 232 TDs, 107 INTs
Young had a tough act to follow with Joe Montana, but he did just that for the 49ers in the 1990s. Young won AP NFL MVP awards in 1992 and 1994. He led San Francisco to a 49-26 victory against San Diego in Super Bowl XXIX. Young had 325 passing yards and six TDs with 49 rushing yards in one of the greatest performances in Super Bowl history.
8. Otto Graham (1946-55)
Passing stats: 23,584 yards, 174 TDs, 135 INTs
Graham was a three-time NFL champion and three-time MVP who helped modernize the passing game with Paul Brown in Cleveland. Graham's TD:INT ratio was ahead of its time, and he had an incredible 57-13-1 record as a starter.
7. Brett Favre (1991-2010)
Passing stats: 71,838 yards, 508 TDs, 336 INTs
Favre's streak of 297 consecutive starts might never be broken. The three-time AP NFL MVP led the Packers to a victory in Super Bowl XXXI, and his reputation as "The Gunslinger" made him one of the most-entertaining QBs of the 1990s and 2000s. Favre had a 186-112 record as a starter.
6. Drew Brees (2001-20)
Passing stats: 80,358 yards, 571 TDs, 243 INTs
Is this too low? Brees' career statistics are absurd, and he earned Super Bowl MVP honors in leading the Saints past the Colts in Super Bowl XLIV. Brees was a 13-time Pro Bowl selection between his time with the Chargers and Saints. He led the NFL in passing yards seven times but never won the AP NFL MVP award. It's a tough call with the next QB on this list.
MORE: TV info, schedule for Hall of Fame ceremonies
5. Dan Marino (1983-99)
Passing stats: 61,361 yards, 420 TDs, 252 INTs
Marino would have been fun to watch in the present day. The arm talent was incredible, and he set a standard in 1984 with 5,084 passing yards and 48 TDs. Those records were the standard for QBs who entered the 21st century. Marino made nine Pro Bowl appearances. He finished 147-93 as a starter. He only reached one Super Bowl and got beat, but he's still a top-five QB on this list.
4. John Elway (1983-98)
Passing stats: 51,475 yards, 300 TDs, 226 INTs
Elway is a true generational quarterback. Go watch "The Drive" again. Could anybody groove it quite like Elway? He won two Super Bowls in five appearances and won the AP NFL MVP award in 1987 and made nine Pro Bowl appearances as part of a career where he elevated the Denver Broncos franchise to new levels.
SN 140: John Elway orchestrates 'The Drive' that leads Denver to the Super Bowl
3. Johnny Unitas (1956-73)
Passing stats: 40,239 yards, 290 TDs, 253 INTs
Who remembers the iconic high-top shoes? Unitas threw for more TDs than any other Hall of Fame quarterback who started his career in the 1940s or '50s. He's the godfather of the modern-day quarterback, and the 10-time Pro Bowler won three AP NFL MVPs (1959, 1964, 1967) and three NFL championships (1958, 1959, 1968).
2. Joe Montana (1979-94)
Passing stats: 40,551 yards, 273 TDs, 139 INTs
Montana has a strong case for No. 1. He was an eight-time Pro Bowl selection, four-time Super Bowl winner and three-time Super Bowl MVP. He also won the AP NFL MVP award in 1989-90. If you have to win one game, then would you take any other quarterback? Montana averaged 285.5 passing yards with 11 TDs and no interceptions in those four Super Bowl appearances.
1. Peyton Manning (1998-2015)
Passing stats: 71,940 yards, 539 TDs, 251 INTs
Manning is a five-time AP NFL MVP and 14-time Pro Bowl selection. He closed his career with a second Super Bowl victory, too. Few have commanded the position at this level with their football IQ and ability to control a game. He will hold this spot until Brady is enshrined in Canton. Is that still a debate?
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