NFL Future Star Of The Week – Patrick Mahomes

As part of our weekly segment, it’s time to fill you in on who we think is a future star. Please allow The Sporting Base to introduce NFL Quarterback for the Kansas City Chiefs, Patrick Mahomes.

• Name: Patrick Mahomes II
• Nationality: American
• Club: Kansas City Chiefs
• Position: Quarterback
• Age: 23
• Height: 6ft 3 in (191cm)
• Weight: 230lbs (104kg)
• Draft Year – 2017 / Round: 1 / Pick :10

2018 Season Stats

• Appearances: 8
• Touchdown Passes: 26
• Interceptions: 6
• Passing Yards: 2,526
• Completion %: 65.6
• QB Rating: 115.3

High School Years

Mahomes attended Whitehouse High School in Whitehouse, Texas. He threw for 4,619 yards and 50 touchdowns and ran for 948 yards and 15 touchdowns in an impressive senior year. His father, Patrick Mahomes Sr. is a former professional baseball player, and during his high school days, Mahomes II was playing football, basketball and baseball – talented in all three sports. Thankfully for NFL fans, baseball and basketball came secondary to his growing love for football.

College Football

As a 3-star recruit, Mahomes committed to Texas Tech University. In his final college season, Mahomes threw for 5,052 yards, 41 TDs, and 10 Int and broke the NCAA single-game yards passing record and the single-game yards total offense record. If this wasn’t impressive enough, he also played as a relief pitcher for the Texas Tech baseball team.

Early in the NFL Draft process, the already record-breaking QB was being under-valued, largely because of perceived issues with decision-making and throwing mechanics. After an impressive NFL Combine, where he clocked the (tied) fastest pass ever recorded, he climbed draft boards and was considered by most to be a top-3 quarterback in the draft.

He was the second quarterback off the board when the Kansas City Chiefs selected him 10^th overall in the 2017 NFL Draft.

NFL Career

Mahomes red-shirted his rookie year, learning behind veteran quarterback, Alex Smith, until coach Andy Reid rested Smith in the final game of the 2017 season. Throwing for 284 yards and an interception, Mahomes was average, but he did help his team to a win.

In 2018, the Chiefs traded Alex Smith, making Mahomes the starter going forward. In his first start of the 2018 season, Mahomes defeated division rival LA Chargers, throwing for 256 yards, 4 TDs, and no interceptions. This impressive performance set the tone for the following seven games and the season thus far.

After 8 games this year, Mahomes has thrown for 2,526 yards, 26 TDs, and 6 Int, placing him in the thick of the MVP race – an incredible achievement for essentially a rookie (+1 game).

The Chiefs are also 7-1, sitting 1^st in their division and 1^st in the AFC.

What the future holds

Few people were expecting Mahomes to be so good, so early. But the league is, quite remarkably, accustomed to elite-level play by the young quarterback already.

Mahomes had another win and another strong performance this week, warranting a long-overdue mention as one our Stars of the Future.

Unlike many of the athletes we discuss in this segment, Mahomes has very few weaknesses. Even though in college he turned the ball over rarely, and could make every throw, for whatever reason, a lot of “analysts” attached to him some unfair labels: he doesn’t go through his reads, makes unnecessarily difficult throws, and has an unorthodox throwing style. The first criticism has proven to simply be untrue, and the latter two are just part of the show that makes the kid so special.

The only question now is, how good will he be? Only time will tell. But what we know is that the possibilities are endless. The arm talent is on par with some of the greatest to play the game; many have rightly compared him to Brett Favre and Aaron Rogers. He can make every throw. Pair that with an unexpectedly elite command of the offense pre and post snap, an above-average athleticism allowing him to weave in and out of the pocket at will, and a swagger that makes his teammates look toward the 23-year-old as capable of making any play at any time.

Mahomes is already a star, and so barring any severe regression, he will be a star of the future. But as they say – it’s easier to get to the top than it is to stay there.

By Connor Haddad