What does a guy have to do to make a Pro Bowl? Or win an MVP once in his career?

I’m asking for Drew Brees, the future hall of famer who will go down as one of the greatest quarterbacks to ever play the game. Brees is putting up another ridiculous season but was somehow left off the Pro Bowl roster for rookie Dak Prescott, whose job seems to be to hand it off to Zeke Elliott and sit in the pocket for hours behind his massive O-line waiting for somebody from his talented receiving corps to get open. It’s a quarterback’s dream.

Brees, meanwhile, has been stuck in a nightmare for going on a half-decade now. His best receiving option is 5-foot-10. His second-best option is either a dude named Willie Snead or a rookie. And yet, Brees is still sitting atop the league in multiple passing categories.

Lead the @NFL in passing yards and TDs but no pro bowl selection? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/doxYPL15LQ — New Orleans Saints (@Saints) December 21, 2016

The Saints signal-caller is on pace for another 5,000-yard season (yawn), 39 touchdowns (what’s new?) and a 71.1 completion percentage (pssh, not even a league record).

Brees puts up the counting stats (first in TDs and passing yards) he puts up the efficiency stats (top-five in QB rating, yards-per-attempt and completion percentage) and advance stats love him (third in DVOA and seventh in QBR). And yet he’s still the forgotten man when we have debates over the best quarterback in the league.

And that’s been the trend throughout his entire career. Brees is probably going to retire without an MVP trophy, which is just unacceptable. He’s the embodiment of the award. Without Brees, the Saints might be the worst team in the NFL. The defensive ranks near the bottom of the league every season and the offensive supporting cast is never better than just “meh.” And there’s Brees, dragging the team to competency on his back.

Maybe one day, we’ll all look back at his numbers and say “Holy crap, Drew Brees was freaking amazing.” Until then, he’ll continue to be under-appreciated and the most disrespected quarterback of all time.