Why Patrick Mahomes is the next transcendent sports icon

Athletic Uniqueness

Michael Jordan wasn’t the first athletic wing player the NBA had seen, yet the way he was able to utilize that athleticism to create space and dominate from the outside in changed the way coaches and general managers built teams. A league that had largely gravitated towards towering behemoths now began to consider the idea of playing from the backcourt inward.

Similarly, Mahomes’ pedigree and unique blend of physical gifts and precision allow him to do things few have ever thought possible. What was once viewed as an immobile position may now be viewed differently. General managers will, without a doubt, start looking for players who can throw with precision on the run as a first priority, not the tenth.

What was once viewed as a position where fundamentals and throwing motion were static, without positive variations, has now been flipped on its head. A player who can throw from numerous different platforms and angles will now be viewed as a player with a desired skill set instead of one who lacks fundamentals.

What was once believed to be poor training for the NFL, the video game offenses of the Big 12, now appears to be ideal training ground for the new era of quarterbacks and even coaches. The stigma of the “Air Raid Quarterback,” at least for the time being, is arguably dead.

We’ve already seen this trend begin to play itself out and I don’t expect it to be a short-term shift. Kyler Murray, the first pick in the 2019 NFL Draft for the Arizona Cardinals, is arguably a miniature prototype of Mahomes. Mahomes has changed the NFL. He is the latest and greatest evolution in the way the game’s most iconic position is evaluated. This is one of, if not the most important factors an athlete must have to be generationally transcendent.