OPINION

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By Tyler Stepanian

As a cloud of red and yellow confetti fell, the fans were chanting his name… “Mahomes! Mahomes!” The Super Bowl champion, MVP, and season MVP had cemented his legacy as a top 10 quarterback of all time after a historic season, despite losing his top wide receiver option, Tyreek Hill, to a trade in the offseason. But is he dominant enough already to be one of the top five quarterbacks of all time?

Washington Football Team vs. Kansas City Chiefs from FedEx Field in Landover, Maryland, October 17, 2021.

There is no doubt in my mind that Mahomes is not already a top 10 all-time quarterback. During his six seasons in the NFL, including his rookie season, where he started only one game, Mahomes has produced video game-like stats, throwing for 24,241 passing yards and 192 touchdowns, with 49 interceptions. He has maintained a completion percentage of 66.3%, the 10th-highest completion percentage of all time, and a passer rating of 105.7, which is #1 all-time. Also, in these six seasons (or five, if you only count his seasons as a starter) Mahomes has won two Super Bowls, two league and Super Bowl MVP’s, and he has thrown for more than 5,000 passing yards in a season twice. Only Drew Brees and Tom Brady have achieved this more than once. 

There’s no denying that Mahomes passes the eye test of a top five quarterback, and his stats and accolades back that up. However, there is something to be said about some of his early success coming from the system around him, or the team he was drafted to, the Kansas City Chiefs. The team was coached by Hall-of-Fame bound coach Andy Reid, who selected Mahomes tenth overall in the 2017 NFL Draft, making him the backup QB behind their starter at the time, Alex Smith. Smith was no multi-generational talent, but he was a solid, serviceable QB who could get the job done when he needed to. During Mahomes’ rookie year, the Chiefs went 10-6, making the playoffs and winning their division with a glorified game manager, Smith, under center, thus showing just how skilled the Chiefs’ roster and coaching were when Mahomes joined the team. 

Andy Reid, coach of the Kansas City Chiefs. 

However, this is certainly not the reason behind the Chief’s success now. Mahomes’s talent and production are the main reasons for the Chiefs’ success and Super Bowl victory this past season. Mahomes, in the year where many thought he would regress because of Hill’s departure, only improved, throwing a whopping 5,250 yards in a single season. NFL fan Hudson Pace (‘23) said, “If I could go back and pick any QB of all time in their prime to start a franchise with, I would pick Mahomes.” Similarly, William Britt (‘23) felt that, “You should never put money on the other team (facing Mahomes) to win, because there could be one second left, and I would still think he could pull off a miracle win.” He is a magician and a gunslinger. He is someone who can drive down the field with thirteen seconds left and win the game. But, despite all this, in my opinion, he is not in the top five. 

There is no denying Mahomes’ generational talent or his standing as an A-list quarterback. However, given that we only have a sample size of five years, it is unfair to elevate him over past all-time greats just because of his short-term success. In those five years, he has been able to play under unreal coaching and excellent rosters that have contributed to his success tremendously, including All-Pro tight end Travis Kelce and Hill (up until this year). Time will tell how Mahomes can adapt and perform under the new offensive coordinator, Matt Nagy, after his long-time coach for both Super Bowl victories, Eric Bienemy, was recently hired to become the OC and associate head coach of the Washington Commanders. However, if Mahomes is able to keep this same success and production for the next three to five years, then I will feel differently about his all-time ranking.

All photos by All-Pro Reels.