Patrick Mahomes has done it all. Here’s where another MVP says he can get better
With sports’ richest contract, a Super Bowl ring and MVP award and regular season MVP honor by age 24, what worlds remain for Patrick Mahomes to conquer?
Kurt Warner, who achieved similar accomplishments at a later age, isn’t sure. But he believes there is room for Mahomes to improve his game, starting with his technique.
“If there’s one thing I’m looking for Patrick Mahomes it’s consistency in the pocket,” said Warner, an NFL Network analyst after a 12-year NFL career. “Now I know he can do crazy things with his arm and make up for a lot of things but if he can fine tune his technique, which is always a hard thing to do for a guy who is extremely talented because they don’t necessarily have to do it.
“But if he can fine tune his technique and get more consistent with his feet it’s really going to be fun to watch.”
Mahomes and the Chiefs meet the Houston Texans in Thursday night’s NFL opener at Arrowhead Stadium. Kickoff is 7:20 p.m.
Mahomes’ passer rating dipped from the pocket last season. In 2018, he own the NFL’s top passer rating from a clean pocket, according to Pro Football Focus. He wasn’t among the top three last season.
In or out of the pocket, Mahomes has done alright for himself. His 108.9 career passer rating (1,000 or more attempts), is tops among active players in the NFL. So is his total of 76 touchdown passes over the past two regular seasons.
He also owns the all-time postseason passer rating at 106.5 (150 or more attempts).
Many of Mahomes’ spectacular plays have come when he’s flushed from the pocket, but the most important attempt of his career, a 44-yard completion to Tyreek Hill in February — “Jet Chip Wasp,” to begin the comeback against the San Francisco 49ers in the fourth quarter of the Super Bowl — originated from the pocket.
Having time to throw is a factor in pocket passing, and Mahomes’ 2.82 seconds, according to NextGenStats, ranked 18th last season.
Warner, who won two MVP awards and a Super Bowl MVP for the St. Louis Rams, said Mahomes doesn’t necessarily have to raise his game to be considered one of the best ever to play the position.
“Patrick Mahomes doesn’t have to play one bit better over the next 10 years,” Warner said. “If he simply does what he’s done over these first three years for another 10 years we’ll be talking about him as one of the greatest quarterbacks that’s ever played our game.”