Comparing the futures of Patrick Mahomes, Lamar Jackson & Deshaun Watson
By Grant Tuttle
Patrick Mahomes
Overall talent, skillset, and likely progression:
Mahomes is incredibly gifted. While he is certainly not as mobile as Jackson or Watson, he has as much arm talent as anyone that has ever played the game. Whether it be a no-look pass, a sidearm throw or even simply throwing the ball over the middle of the field across his body, the NFL hasn’t seen anything like Mahomes since Brett Favre. While Mahomes has statistically taken a step back due to injury and less rhythm offensively, he is can make plays that very few can.
Mahomes has a strong arm and is incredibly gifted at improvising in the case of a play breaking down. That being said, Mahomes can look shaky and miss on open receivers like he shouldn’t but Mahomes has shown more of an understanding of what it takes to be an NFL quarterback. With Andy Reid‘s success coaching quarterbacks, there is no reason to doubt that Mahomes will get better every season.
Forecasting Mahomes’s future:
Reid and Mahomes are a scary duo. When you consider the fact that Mahomes has one of the strongest arms in football and the Chiefs have some of the fastest receivers in football, it makes it even scarier for opposing defenses. Mahomes is certainly not crushing every defense the same way that he did last season, but the conditions are right for the offense to explode at any given moment.
Mahomes has plenty of skill position talent around him to help him develop. Despite the likelihood that Sammy Watkins will be released at the end of the season, Tyreek Hill, Mecole Hardman, and Travis Kelce are in Kansas City for the foreseeable future, which is amazing news for Mahomes. What isn’t great for Mahomes is the condition of the offensive line.
In order for Mahomes to be among the NFL’s best for the long-term, he will need his offensive line, particularly the interior, to be better. I would anticipate the Chiefs making some investments in that area this offseason. I would also be surprised if they didn’t add more talent at skill positions on offense. With Reid’s love of offense, Mahomes is in good shape going forward.
As far as the other teams in the AFC West are concerned, Mahomes and the Chiefs are the top dog. Reid has owned the West and made it look relatively easy. That being said, all three teams have some interesting building blocks for the future. With a bit of guidance, and better quarterback play, the AFC West may be more challenging in the future.