There have been lots of good quarterbacks to play in the NFL over the years. Only a few can classify themselves as great. These are the ones that set records, lifted franchises out of the mud, and carried them to championships. Drew Brees is a perfect example. The New Orleans Saints were nothing for the first 40 years of their existence. All of that changed when Brees arrived. He became an elite passer, rewriting the record books and guiding the franchise to their first Super Bowl championship. It didn’t happen because he was the most talented quarterback ever. Most of it centered on his obsessive preparation.
Clay Harbor played tight end in the NFL for eight seasons. During that time, he was a teammate to some incredible quarterbacks, including Tom Brady, Matthew Stafford, and Brees. He spoke on the Under Center podcast about what stood out the most from them compared to other quarterbacks he’d encountered. It boiled down to their work habits. Each of them was detailed in everything they did. Harbor described Brees especially as “meticulous.” This is important because he’s noticed a lot of similar characteristics from Caleb Williams.
Williams displayed this Drew Brees mentality at a young age.
GQ magazine did a profile on him last year that revealed details of how he became a Heisman winner at USC. It started with a plan he and his father put together when he was 10. It involved work habits that were not normal for somebody of that age. He’d do hot yoga to keep his body flexible, go through media training so he knew how to handle the cameras, and sought out several respected quarterback coaches to help refine his game every year. Such efforts helped him eventually become the #1 pick in the 2024 draft.
Not much has changed. Williams is in the facility early every day to work out, study the playbook, and do film work. He hounds coaches late at night with texts about specific formations and concepts so he has them mastered. Whenever he and a receiver have an incompletion, he pulls them aside to explain how he wants certain routes run. That is exactly how Drew Brees operated during most of his career. Usually, when this is the case, the quarterback ends up being good.
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Chicago would love to experience what New Orleans did for all those years.
“Told ya, Tom Waddle did. Let you forget it, he will not.” -Yoda
Any top professional is going to be meticulous to either optimize the productive behavior or remedy any deficiencies. These people want to win at the highest levels or are afraid of losing. They also tend to be micromanagers for themselves and others. If they delegate authority or really trust others, such is a rarity. Still, optimal preparation, not paranoia, is a good thing in football and in the game of life.