2. Patrick Mahomes– Two remain! It’s been fun. Let’s take it back to April 27th, 2017. The NFL Draft was taking place in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Andy Reid and the Kansas City Chiefs decide to trade up and selected a quarterback. At this moment, I knew Alex Smith didn’t have much longer with the franchise. In 2018, it was finally the young quarterback’s time to shine. He’s making the highest debut on my list since Cam Newton in 2016. Patrick Mahomes checks in as my second-best player in the NFL right now and my top ranked quarterback.
How electric was this kid in 2018? Each week, he had all football fans and analysts talking about him. Prior to the season starting, I said in my division previews that the Chiefs looked to be the fastest offense on paper with all the pieces they have with Tyreek Hill, Travis Kelce, Kareem Hunt and Mahomes. Each week, it seemed like we were watching a video game in real life and number 15 was the catalyst behind it all. He’s the closest thing I’ve seen to Aaron Rodgers playing the position and I can explain. Just like Aaron, Patrick has a very strong arm to push the football down the field to his open receivers, he can place the ball in the perfect spot only to where his receiver can get it and he’s at his best when he’s moving the pocket and extending the play. Throughout the year, everyone was amazed at what he can do. Most of the time, younger quarterbacks seem afraid to capture the big moment, that wasn’t Patrick. Everytime the lights shined, he always seemed to play big. Watch his footwork when he plays. It’s exactly what it should be to complement his style of play. His dad is a former professional baseball player and each game I watched of the Chiefs quarterback; I saw that baseball background in a lot of his throws on the football field. When the pressure would flush him out of the pocket, he had to make the same awkward throws that infielders on a baseball field make. I also see some of his basketball background in his football skillset. He reminds me of a point guard that gets the ball to anybody if they are open, so he’s good when it comes to spreading the ball around. There were plays last season that he made look effortless. He keeps his eyes down the field which is how it should be when you’re pressured and flushed out the pocket. There are two throws that stood out to me. The first was on a Monday night against the Denver Broncos. With Von Miller pressuring him which forced him to the left side of the pocket, Pat had to improvise, and he literally made a throw with his left hand. The other came in a week 14 game against the Baltimore Ravens. He threw a no-look pass perfectly! Something I’ve never seen any quarterback do. He’s the type of player you create on Madden.
Mahomes led the Chiefs to one of their best seasons. A 12-4 record, the AFC West division title and the top seed in the AFC playoffs. He also led them to their first AFC Championship game ever at Arrowhead. In his first year starting, he put together one of the greatest debut seasons I’ve ever seen. He threw 50 touchdown passes and was awarded the league MVP and offensive player of the year and became only the third quarterback ever to thrown 50 touchdown passes in a season joining Peyton Manning and Tom Brady which is a very elite conversation to be mentioned in. He became a superstar in our league last year. I’ve referred to him as “Football’s Steph Curry” because just like the superstar NBA player, he does things that leaves us speechless and kids are taking after him. I’ve seen some videos of kids attempting his no look pass just like we see some attempt deep three pointers like Steph does. A star is on the rise. Let’s see what he does in his second year as a starter.
