Patrick Mahomes is atop quarterback rankings where he belongs

It took a bit longer for the rest of the National Football League to come around, but alas, they are finally here—at least those who will likely ever admit that Patrick Mahomes is the best quarterback in the game.

There will, of course, always be trolls. The combative online takes that refuse to acknowledge Mahomes's supremacy at his position is just what it means to be alive today. There's no way to ensure the lack of contrarian takes online by people who refuse to show their names or faces, but given the lack of transparency or accountability, none of us should even care about what they have to say anyway.

Back to Mahomes.

For the first five years we've watched Mahomes as a starting quarterback, Chiefs Kingdom knew very quickly what they had on their hands. It was watching the Magic unfold during his inaugural season under center—when he won the first of two Super Bowls—that some were already convinced. They were early adopters with good evidence, but the single season was likely too short of a stint to make beleivers out of everyone.

But the greatness never waned in Mahomes. It never took a break. We never once saw him collapse under the pressure of lifting a franchise to previously unknown levels. He wore the challenger label just as easily as he does "reigning champ." And whether the Chiefs were underdogs or odds-on favorites, Mahomes has always showcased the same head-shaking, jaw-dropping, heart-lifting way year after year.

Even as recently as a year ago, however, Mahomes still had his mainstream doubters. In the early years, it was due to Tom Brady's presence in the game. Then came the two consecutive MVP seasons from Aaron Rodgers. The potential of what Josh Allen or Justin Herbert or Lamar Jackson or Joe Burrow could be was always lurking as well, keeping the masses from crowning Mahomes outright as the single most dominant quarterback around without question or hedging from someone.

What Mahomes needed was time to prove his case. The league needed to see Allen and Burrow fail multiple times. They needed to see Rodgers hit a wall. Brady left the game and Jackson can't stay healthy. Through it all, Mahomes has proven to be reliably brilliant, a transcendent player who refuses to slow down or stop breaking records.

That's not to say that those aforementioned quarterbacks aren't good or even great. That doesn't take anything away from the legacies of Brady or Rodgers. But as Pro Football Focus recently stated in their QB rankings for '23, "Mahomesis the standard by which all NFL quarterbacks are now measured." It's about time for this to be a ubiquitous response.