NFL QB legend Drew Brees claims he would be a 'top three analyst' right now if he had a job... despite unceremonious NBC exit

Years after his flaming out of a broadcast booth for NBC, former New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees believes that he is currently one of the best in the business.

After his retirement at the end of the 2020 season, Brees was slotted into the booth for a playoff game between the Las Vegas Raiders and the Cincinnati Bengals in 2022.

The result left much to be desired, however, the choice to put Brees in the booth for only the second time in his career during a game of those proportions was a head-scratcher from NBC.

So with that lack of experience weighing him down, Brees believes that - with more time - he'd be one of the best in the league right now.

Speaking on The Dan Patrick Show on Friday, Brees surprisingly suggested that he's one of the three best analysts in the NFL - right now.

'I'd step in the booth right now and be a top-three guy, without question,' Brees told the veteran sports radio host.

'And then give me a few years and I could be the best.'

Why is that? Brees says, 'I love the game. I love talking about the game. I feel like I have an insight to the game that is pretty unique given my playing experience. I see the game a totally different way, I process it a different way.

'So even as I watch games now, I listen to the commentary, and this and that, and what I'm seeing, I just feel like there's so much more to add.'

This confidence is particularly surprising because Brees has yet to return to a broadcast booth to call any games after leaving in May of 2022.

Now, there is no question as to Brees' ability to read the game and understand it - considering he's a Super Bowl champion and two-time Offensive Player of the Year.

However, knowing sports and being able to broadcast sports well are two wildly different things. Tom Brady arguably knows more about the sport than anyone else, considering his incredibly long tenure in the league. But even he had plenty of kinks to iron out of his commentary style in his first season in the booth last year.

Confidence is important for an analyst, but so is experience and ability to deliver the most information in a short window. Just because someone knows a lot about the game does not at all make someone a great broadcaster for the game.

There's a delicate balance to the dance that Brees did not have in the 2021 season. Without any additional significant experience live on air since then, it's hard to see or believe how he's vaulted himself up from a victim of circumstance to being at - or above - the likes of Greg Olsen or Cris Collinsworth or Troy Aikman or Kirk Herbstreit or Tony Romo (or even Brady).

Brees has been tapped to call one of Netflix's Christmas Day doubleheader games this season. Last year, he worked the pre-game and post-game shows for the streaming giant.