Comparing Patrick Mahomes’ first 3 seasons as a starter with NFL’s best

Patrick Mahomes is unbelievable. In his short career so far, he has emerged as not only one of the best, most talented and most exciting players in the league. It is hard to imagine how his career could have gotten off to a better start, but how does he compare to other legendary quarterbacks at the begging of their NFL journeys?

In his three short years in the league, Mahomes has already accomplished things other players would be happy to achieve over the course of their entire careers. He has already won a Super Bowl, a league MVP and a Super Bowl MVP, while dropping jaws and setting all kinds of records along the way.

That record breaking trend continued last weekend against the Cleveland Browns, when Mahomes surpassed Dan Marino’s NFL record for the most passing touchdowns through 50 starts (117) and Kurt Warner’s NFL record for the most passing yards through 50 starts (14,489)—with three games to spare.

Comparing Patrick Mahomes with the NFL’s best quarterbacks after three seasons.

But diving deeper, how do Mahomes’ numbers in his first three seasons as a starter compare with other great QBs?

Comparing the start of his career to those of recent legends Aaron Rodgers, Payton Manning, Tom Brady and Drew Brees, Mahomes comes out on top in almost every category.

• Passing yards: Mahomes (13,868), Rodgers (12,394), Manning (12,287), Brady (10,227), Brees (8,551)
• Touchdowns: Mahomes (114), Rodgers (86), Manning (85), Brady (69), Brees (55)
• Interceptions: Mahomes (23), Rodgers (31), Brees (38), Brady (38), Manning (58)
• Completion %: Mahomes (66.1), Rodgers (64.6), Brady (61.9), Brees (61.4), Manning (60.4)
• Yards per attempt: Mahomes (8.4), Rodgers (8.0), Manning (7.3), Brees (6.7), Brady (6.6)
• QB rating: Mahomes (109.3), Rodgers (99.4), Brady (86.0), Manning (85.4), Brees (83.0)
• Team record: Mahomes (37-8), Brady (34-12), Rodgers (27-20), Manning (26-22), Brees (21-21)

His 114 touchdowns (an NFL record) are obviously the most in the group, but it isn’t even close. Rodgers has the second most with 86, while Brees – second all-time in touchdown passes – is at the bottom of the list with 55.

He has the most yards, the most yards per attempt, the highest completion percentage, the fewest interceptions, the highest QB rating, the most wins and the highest win percentage. In fact, Mahomes’ win percentage of .826 is the highest of any QB since at least 1950, when stats were tracked.

The astounding numbers continue. Mahomes’ owns a remarkable touchdown-to-interception ratio of 4.96 – way ahead of Rodgers (2.74) and Brady (1.82), and more than three times better than Manning (1.47) and Brees (1.44).

Mahomes is also the only player in that group to win the league MVP award in their first three seasons, and is the second-youngest league MVP in NFL history. Like Rodgers, Mahomes won one Super Bowl in his first three seasons. Brady won two Super Bowls in the same period of his carrer, while Manning and Brees won none.

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Looking back further, if we compare Mahomes to all-time NFL greats Dan Marino, John Elway, Joe Montana and Brett Favre and the first three years of their careers as starters, again his numbers are right up near the top.

• Passing yards: Marino (13,967), Mahomes (13,868), Favre (10,412), Montana (10,088), Elway (9,974)
• Touchdowns: Marino (122), Mahomes (114), Favre (70), Montana (62), Elway (59)
• Interceptions: Mahomes (23), Montana (35), Elway (51), Favre (51), Marino (61)
• Completion %: Mahomes (66.1), Montana (63.5), Favre (62.4), (Marino (61.3), Elway (55.1)
• Yards per attempt: Mahomes (8.4), Marino (8.0), Montana (7.5), Elway (6.7), Favre (6.6)
• QB rating: Mahomes (109.3), Marino (95.1), Montana (90.6), Favre (83.0), Elway (74.9)
• Team record: Mahomes (37-8), Marino (34-14), Elway (34-12), Montana (26-15), Favre (26-19)

Mahomes has the most wins, the most yards per attempt, the highest QB rating, the highest completion percentage and the fewest interceptions in the group.

And while he is second behind Marino in total yards and total touchdowns, Mahomes averaged more yards per game than the Hall of Famer and the same number of touchdowns per game.

The 50 touchdowns Mahomes threw in 2018 – his first season as a starter – is more than both Marino and Favre threw in any season in their entire careers. The 38 touchdowns he threw last season are more than Elway and Montana had in any season in their careers as well.

Mahomes is obviously a phenomenal talent. His career stats are already incredible, but they become even more so when you considerhow quickly he has been able to accomplish them and compare them to what other all-time greats did early in their careers too.

His numbers are so good they would even rival the best three years some of these legends had at any stage in their career, not just at the start.

We have seen Mahomes develop, learn and – somehow – continue to get even better each season so far. If he keeps on improving as his career goes on, it is mind-blowing to think of the things he still might accomplish.

*All stats via Stathead Football