Sean Payton on Drew Brees’s Replacement, Tom Brady and the 2017 NFL Draft.

After Drew Brees was asked by TMZ about life in New Orleans without Sean Payton, the tables have turned. Sean Payton appeared on The Dan Patrick Show and was asked about whether or not the Saints will be actively searching for the a Quarterback of the Future to prepare for life after Drew Brees.

If you can’t watch the clip above, Sean explains that he doesn’t see any signs of decline in Drew Brees and feels no urgent rush to find Drew’s heir apparent in New Orleans. He credits Drew’s workout and conditioning regiment, and says that Drew has plenty left in the tank.

Sean also discusses the probability of only finding a future starting QB in the first two rounds of the NFL Draft, but also explains the Saints’ more pressing need to draft players in those two rounds that can help the team win in 2017.

Sean then was asked about the starting QB for the New England Patriots in Super Bowl on Sunday, Tom Brady.

Sean explained that he and Tom actually share the same agent and that Sean scouted Brady while Sean was a member of the New York Giants coaching staff. Arguably the greatest QB in the history of the NFL was given a 4th Round grade from the Giants’ staff, and while this might seem a slight to the future Hall of Famer, Brady was not actually selected into until the 6th Round that year.

Sean then explained why the Giants had a 4th Round grade on Brady but that he wasn’t selected until the sixth:

What happens in the Draft all the time is that if you’re in the 5th Round, you’re probably drafting a player you’ve got graded in the 3rd Round because [other teams] aren’t seeing [the rankings] exactly as you see it. So at some point it gets off two rounds, and then when you’re in Round 4, there’s a “2” that’s still sitting there on your board. When you’re in 6, there s a “4” or maybe a “3” on you board. So it would be very rare to have a player with a 5th Round grade and draft him in the 5th Round.

Interesting stuff from Coach Payton and it’s always nice hearing this sort of insight directly from the horse’s mouth.