An apology to Patrick Mahomes, Andy Reid, and the Chiefs offense

Contributing writer Jacob Harris admits he was dead wrong about Patrick Mahomes, Andy Reid and this Chiefs offense and he’s ready to apologize.

As the guy who spent the offseason warning that 2018 would be Patrick Mahomes’ “driver’s ed” season, one filled with growing pains, allow me to openly say the following: I’m sorry. I’m an idiot.

I’ve always believed that Mahomes’ ceiling was limitless, that he’s a transcendent, once-in-a-generation talent that defies comparison who will carve his own legacy separate from Brett Favre, Aaron Rodgers, or any other quarterback he’s been likened too. I just didn’t expect it to start happening this quickly.

I was wrong. The kid’s the real deal—right now.

No, he’s not going to average five touchdowns and zero interceptions a game. Yes, he’s going to make mistakes, as all quarterbacks do. And yes, his incomparable early success can be equally attributed to his own nearly incomprehensible talent as it can be his supporting cast and Andy Reid’s genius. But QB greats don’t grow on trees, and they don’t grow outside of the right environment. Mahomes has been carefully developed in the perfect environment, and he’s proving Andy Reid, Brett Veach and Co. right in drafting him.

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This isn’t a fluke. This isn’t going to be Deshaun Watson regressing to the mean after a half-season of explosive play filled with jump balls that went his way and receivers dropping the ball at an uncharacteristically low rate. This isn’t going to be RGIII exploding onto the NFL scene in 2012 almost exclusively on the power of spread concepts only to crash back down to earth after Washington shifted to a more traditional scheme.

This is a 23-year-old quarterback making smart, veteran decisions in one of the league’s most complicated offenses. Make no mistake: Andy Reid’s offense is not, nor has it ever been, a gimmick. He uses college concepts and constant motion and unique formations, but those are just the window dressing for the complex West Coast foundation underneath. In Mahomes, Reid has found the quarterback to perfectly match his scheme he’s been searching for for years. Reid passed Mahomes the torch, and Mahomes is using it to set the league on fire.

If you doubt Mahomes’ early success, go back and watch the tape against Los Angeles and Pittsburgh. These aren’t 50/50 balls. These aren’t numbers artificially inflated by scheme (ok, fine, outside of two of Mahomes’ 10 TDs coming on goal line shovel passes that were ostensibly sweeps). This is scheme and talent working in tandem to create something beautiful and virtually unstoppable. This is Mahomes taking what he sees pre-snap and using it to surgically pick apart a defense post-snap. This is a QB not only with an impossibly strong arm, but also the touch, anticipation, and cerebral intangibles to make legitimately any throw.

The short version: the majority of Mahomes’ great play isn’t the kind of great play that gets shut down after teams have tape on it.

Rodgers, Brady, Brees— all these guys continue to slice up defenses and pull something out of nothing year in, year out. There are decades of collective tape available on these guys. It’s not like they’re doing anything different. Still it makes no difference. You could watch a silhouette of any of these dudes’ late-game heroic drives and be able to tell who it was without a doubt. Some talent is so great that “having tape on him” doesn’t stop it. The Chiefs have that level of talent in Mahomes.

And here’s the thing, while I was wrong about 2018 being Mahomes’ “driver’s ed” season, there is a kernel of truth in there; this is still Baby Mahomes we’re seeing. What’s this offense going to look like when Mahomes has seen it all? When nothing a defense throws at him will be new? What’s going to happen when Mahomes has the experience-hardened wiles of Rodgers, Brady, and Brees? It’s a thought that should thrill Chiefs fans and terrify everyone else.

So, again, allow me to apologize. Patrick, Andy, and everyone involved with the Kansas City offense.

I’m sorry. I was wrong. You’re already great.

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