Just in case you weren’t clear about Drew Brees’ place in the NFL pantheon, here’s the full list of every 5000-yard passing season in league history:

1. Peyton Manning, 2013 – 5477 yards

2. Drew Brees, 2011 – 5476

3. Tom Brady, 2011 – 5235

4. Drew Brees, 2016 – 5208

5. Drew Brees, 2012 – 5177

6. Drew Brees, 2013 – 5162

7. Dan Marino, 1984 – 5084

8. Drew Brees, 2008 – 5069

9. Matthew Stafford, 2011 – 5038

It’s a mark that’s been reached nine times ever, and five times by Brees. That’s just absurd.

Brees has led the league in passing in seven of his 11 seasons with the Saints, including five of the last six. He’s the all-time NFL leader in completion percentage (66.6) and yards per game (283.7). He also ranks third on the career list in total passing yards (66,111), touchdowns (465) and completions (5836) and he’s fifth in net yards per attempt (6.97).

He’s good, Brees. His collaboration with head coach Sean Payton has been among the most productive in the game’s history. Yes, Brees has benefited from extreme pass volume and a massively friendly home environment. But we should also note that he hasn’t been paired with a no-doubt Hall of Fame receiver since Antonio Gates, back in the San Diego years.

Brees is entering his age-38 season coming off another ridiculously productive year: 5208 yards, 37 TDs, 70.0 completion percentage, 7.7 Y/A. If you think he should be the first quarterback selected in fantasy drafts, you won’t get much of an argument from me. Brees is as good as any passer has ever been. He also remains the safest way to invest in the New Orleans offense for fantasy purposes, because this team continues to spread the wealth.

Michael Thomas is the No.1, then things get complicated.

While we’re pointing out historic seasons, let’s also mention that last year Thomas became only the fourth player to produce 90 catches and 1000 yards as a rookie, joining Anquan Boldin, Odell Beckham and Terry Glenn. Thomas led the Saints in targets (122), receptions (92), touchdowns (9) and yards after catch (436) last season, emerging as a bankable WR1 in any fantasy format. He saw 11 targets inside the 10-yard line, tied for third-most in the NFL. There are no glaring holes in his fantasy game. Think of him as Marques Colston with greater separation ability. Considering his talent and team context, he deserves to be among the first 7-8 receivers off the board in your fantasy league, a reasonable pick near the R1/R2 turn.

View photos Don’t expect a sophomore slump from Michael Thomas, gamers. (AP Photo/Ron Schwane) More

Brandon Cooks was flipped to New England, of course, which leaves roughly 120 targets up for grabs — and these are not just any targets. We’re talking about 120 balls thrown by the most accurate passer in league history. These are the Glengarry leads, people.

Thomas will likely see a small uptick in opportunities, so we’re probably looking at 100-or-so pass attempts redistributed to this team’s supporting receivers. Willie Snead and free agent addition Ted Ginn Jr. are the No. 2 and 3 receivers on this team, and the order in which you choose to list them hardly matters. This team, as everyone knows, commonly uses three-receiver sets. (I am begging you not to get hung up on starting status in the NFL; this isn’t baseball.)

Over the past seven seasons, Brees has averaged an insane 662 pass attempts per 16 games, so this team’s passing game can certainly support three starting-caliber fantasy receivers. It’s not difficult to imagine Snead finishing with 1000 yards and Ginn finding the end-zone, say, eight or nine times. Payton and Brees have been effusive in their praise for Ginn. He’ll clearly remain a high-variance receiver, but the big weeks will be matchup-winners. I’m happy to take a guy like that as my WR3. To me, the gap between Snead’s Yahoo ADP (87.3) and Ginn’s (128.5) is nuts. Both offer profit potential, but Ginn is practically free.