Drew Brees by Matt Christopher

Author:Matt Christopher [CHRISTOPHER, MATT]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Published: 2015-12-02T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWELVE

2004

QUARTERBACK CONTROVERSY

With the worst record in the NFL, the San Diego Chargers went into the off-season holding the first pick in the 2004 draft. Speculation about whether they would draft a quarterback was rampant. Eli Manning, Philip Rivers, and Ben Roethlisberger were all considered first-round talents that year. Manning came into the draft with the most buzz, as a huge talent and the younger brother of the amazing Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning. He was considered a franchise quarterback, and Drew hadn’t played well enough in his short career to convince the Chargers not to draft the younger Manning.

The Chargers loved what Manning could do, and the team was all set to draft him. Eli and Peyton’s father, former New Orleans Saints quarterback Archie Manning, traveled to San Diego just days before the draft to meet with the Chargers. Afterward, however, Eli’s agent made it clear that Eli was not interested in playing for San Diego. Obviously something had happened in that meeting. Some in the media speculated that it was a money issue, while others believed that the Manning family wanted to have Eli play in New York. Whatever the reason, the Mannings made it clear that Eli would never play for San Diego.

Coach Schottenheimer had fallen in love with Philip Rivers’s playing style during his time coaching the South team in the Senior Bowl. The North Carolina State quarterback was big, standing six feet five inches and weighing 230 pounds, and he could throw the ball with incredible power.

On the day of the draft, San Diego tried to trade their pick, but couldn’t find a deal that was suitable. If they were going to give up the first pick in an extremely deep draft, they wanted to get multiple high draft picks in return. New York reached out to San Diego about the pick, but didn’t want to give up the right combination of picks or players.

With no real deal on the table, San Diego called the Mannings’ bluff, deciding to take the top player on their draft board. With the first pick in the 2004 NFL Draft, the San Diego Chargers selected Eli Manning from Ole Miss. The Raiders took Robert Gallery with the second pick, and with the third pick, Arizona selected Larry Fitzgerald. With the Giants up next and Gallery off the board, New York waited until time had almost run out on the clock, and then they selected Philip Rivers. Had all the controversy leading up to the draft blown over? Was San Diego really going to risk a holdout by Eli or worse?

Minutes later, a trade was announced. Manning was headed to New York after all, and San Diego would receive Philip Rivers, as well as the Giants’ 2004 third-round pick and their 2005 first-and fifth-round picks. It was another great draft day trade for San Diego, but what did it mean for Drew Brees?

Going into the 2004 season, Drew Brees knew he would have some real competition from rookie quarterback Phillip Rivers.

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