Patrick Mahomes will be the GOAT

The Tom Brady era is over. With nine Super Bowl appearances, six Super Bowl rings and three MVP awards, it was Brady’s world. During the mighty Patriot empire, everyone else existed as mere mortals. The New England Patriots were the Romans, and Brady was Augustus himself. Wait, does that mean Drew Bledsoe is Julius Caesar? Anyway, hyperbole and cheesy Roman empire jokes aside, Brady truly was the NFL’s gold standard.

                  He may not have a supermodel wife with a net worth of $400 million, but Patrick Mahomes has something that Brady doesn’t. Mahomes has time. While Brady is in an Ali-Frazier level fight with father time, Mahomes has snuck out the backdoor with the championship belt. In just two seasons as the starting quarterback of the Kansas City Chiefs, Mahomes has already become the youngest player ever to win NFL MVP and Super Bowl MVP. He is also the only black quarterback to win both NFL MVP and the Super Bowl in the history of the league.

                  Some players are good, some players are great, and others are transcendental. Mahomes has not just become the face of the league, but he has changed the way the quarterback position is played. Brady was undoubtedly the greatest pocket-passer the game had ever seen, but there’s nothing transcendental about being a pocket-passer. 

Mahomes affects the game in a multitude of ways. Whether he is contorting his arm in an odd way, throwing no-look passes, scrambling around in the pocket, or using his legs to get down the field, Mahomes has an array of weapons that has never been seen before. 

                  Mike Vick ran, and had a canon for an arm, but couldn’t throw with consistent accuracy. Peyton Manning threw with consistent accuracy, and had a stellar football IQ, but couldn’t run. Brett Favre was the “gunslinger,” but threw to the opposing team as much as he threw to his own. Throughout history, the NFL has seen many great quarterbacks. Brady, Manning, Favre, Montana, Elway, Marino, Rodgers, etc. were all hall of famers. 

However, none of them possessed the amount of tools that Mahomes does. Mahomes’ blend of athleticism, accuracy, arm strength, football IQ, pocket awareness and big play ability has never been seen before. He can make any throw, at any time, and can break a long run if he needs to. At just 24 years old, Mahomes is already more accomplished than most of his competition. The scary part is that he’s only getting better. 

                  Mahomes comes from an athletic pedigree. His father, Patrick Mahomes Sr., was a professional baseball player for 11 years. He played for the Minnesota Twins, New York Mets, Boston Red Sox and Chicago Cubs. With an MLB playing dad, baseball was Mahomes’ first love. He played baseball for many years before he decided he wanted to be a football player full-time. 

Everyone should be thankful he chose football. His historic first season as a starter made him the third quarterback ever to throw for 50 touchdowns, and the seventh to throw for more than 5000 yards. He followed that performance by winning the Super Bowl in his second year as a starter. Yes, the Brady era is over, but the Patrick Mahomes era is just beginning.