This season has been a real anomaly for the Kansas City Chiefs offensively and, at this point in the season, there’s definitely something in the water since some of the issues in terms of execution and mistakes have happened in more than just a passing game (pun intended) or two.
Specifically, dropped passes have been a problem for Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs offense, and for fans, it’s looked like the Chiefs pass catchers are doing so on a much greater basis than what we’re used to seeing.
It turns out that our eyes were not mistaken.
Patrick Mahomes is the unofficial NFL leader in passes dropped this year.
An unofficial look at the list of quarterbacks with the most passes dropped so far this season has Mahomes at the top with 30, followed closely by Justin Herbert of the Los Angeles Chargers–a matchup, by the way, between the two is something we’ll get to see in primetime next Thursday. Here’s the list:
QBs with the most passes dropped this season:
— NFL Stats (@NFL_Stats) December 8, 2021
Patrick Mahomes - 30
Justin Herbert - 28
Matthew Stafford - 24
Josh Allen - 21
Jared Goff - 21
Sam Darnold - 21
Tom Brady - 20
Trevor Lawrence - 20
Carson Wentz - 19
Ben Roethlisberger - 19
Daniel Jones - 19
A standalone statistic like this is problematic for a number of reasons because it doesn’t count the overall number of passing attempts by quarterbacks, nor does it provide any context around the quarterback himself. For instance, Mahomes is likely going to attempt a number of passes that more conservative quarterbacks would not.
Even then, the “catchability” of a pass is subjective, too. Does a pass have to completely slip through the fingers of the pass-catcher to be labeled as a drop? Does the speed of the throw matter? What about the angle? The truth is that the way a ball is delivered is part of the exchange and Mahomes even said as much to reporters on Wednesday.
Mahomes on dropped passes: “If I can get the ball in a better place where it’s more catchable especially when they’re in traffic, it will probably cut down on those numbers. It has just as much to do with me as it does with them.”
— Aaron Ladd (@aaronladdtv) December 8, 2021
So there definitely is some truth to the fact that the Chiefs pass catchers this season have a problem holding into the ball, at least compared with previous seasons. That’s true of the team’s pillars from Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce to role players like Byron Pringle and Mecole Hardman. Each of those guys, and the units at wideout and tight end in general, need to do continued work on focus and catching drills. However, Mahomes also has to alter his throwing angle or touch in order to deliver a better-thrown ball into the hands of his receivers instead of raising the level of difficulty with how he delivers it in the first place.
Either way, if you’ve been wondering whether or not the Chiefs have had a serious problem with drops this year, the stats don’t lie.