It was only for a short time in San Diego, and since then, things in Welker's life have changed considerably. For one thing, people actually know who he is these days — but Brees' memories haven't dimmed a bit.
Despite Welker's limited success with the Chargers, Brees always thought the spunky wide receiver was something special, and obviously, he still does now.
"Wes was awesome," the Saints quarterback told Boston.com. "He was one of those work-hard guys, thousand miles an hour all the time. I remember throwing a touchdown pass to him in the preseason in 2004 and he ended up making our team as our kickoff returner."
Welker's tenure in San Diego was very short lived — he played in just one game with the Chargers before being released and picked up by Miami. According to Brees, however, Welker was only released because of some other injuries, and the plan was to bring him back to the Chargers whenever possible.
"The minute we released him, he got picked up on waivers by Miami and the rest is history," Brees said. "I think a couple of weeks later, he was their best slot wide receiver — [and then] their kicker got hurt and he was kicking off and kicking field goals for them, against the Patriots, of all people."
Welker played in 15 games for the Dolphins that year, then played in 16 for each of the next two. In his three years in Miami, he registered 96 receptions for 1,121 yards and one touchdown.
Then, the Patriots traded for him in 2007, and the rest, once again, is history. This year, the 28-year-old Texas Tech product leads the league in receptions with 79 and has 854 yards and four touchdowns. Last week against the Jets, Welker had 15 receptions for 192 yards, leading all receivers.
Brees isn't surprised.
"I have a lot of respect for him," he said. "I think he was always one of those guys — I love the way he worked. I love the way he approached the game. He was competitive. He was tough, and he was one of those guys you looked at and just said, 'If any guy deserves to be successful, it's this guy.'"
