By Jack McNicholas

August 11th, 2020

Although many overlooked Kansas City Quarterback Patrick Mahomes coming out
of Texas Tech in 2017. All of the doubters have now been silenced and can sit
back and enjoy watching this arm talent of Mahomes. The accuracy and deep-ball
ability is unmatched. The Chiefs find themselves in a position to win as long
as he is on the field. With the new contract extension, it’s time for teams
around the league to prepare for what Mahomes brings with him.

The Kansas City Chiefs made history last week by signing the former MVP and
currently reigning Super Bowl MVP Patrick Mahomes to a 10-year, $477 million
dollar extension through the 2031 season. With $22 million in potential
bonuses. The contract becomes the largest contract in NFL history, as well as
the largest contract for any athlete. After Mahomes has shown to be a
generational talent by winning an MVP and throwing 50 touchdowns in 2018. As
well as being only a Tom Brady led overtime drive in the AFC Championship game
in his MVP season. In 2019 Mahomes got redemption and won his first Super Bowl
Championship. The 2019-2020 season was his second year as a starter and was it
special. Patrick Mahomes has just begun to show off his once in a generation
ability.

The supporting cast is perfect for Mahomes improvising style and his ability
to create plays out of the pocket. With his supporting cast of receivers Tyreek
Hill, Sammy Watkins, and Mecole Hardman; his ability to throw downfield makes
defenses have to play as deep as possible. The combination of speed and the
deep ball accuracy has proven to be unstoppable for this offense the past few
seasons. Tight End Travis Kelce elite and only adds to this stacked group of
receiving talent. The team selected Clyde Edwards- Helaire out of LSU with
their first overall selection. His pass-catching ability shown off in college
will be dangerous as this is a pass-heavy offense but the scheme utilizes the
running backs as both runners and pass catchers. A quarterback’s dream, if
you’re on this team. Making impossible throws that make the opponents watch in
awe. If he can keep this magic going and the team builds with him the sky’s the
limit. 

Head Coach Andy Reid knew coming out of college that Mahomes would need time
to adjust to the NFL game. He already had a starter in quarterback Alex Smith,
who was going into his sixth year with the Chiefs, all with Reid. Never having
a losing season and being just games away from the Super Bowl every year, it
was shocking the Chiefs would be in the market for a new signal caller. The
organization decided to make a gamble in the 2017 draft and make this shocking
move by trading up to the 10th pick. They knew that it was time to move on from
Smith once this new quarterback had a year to sit and learn the NFL game. When
the Chiefs were on the clock, many thought Clemson’s Deshaun Watson was going
to come off the board.

The pick was Patrick Mahomes. This was shocking for two reasons. First off
the only quarterback to come off the board to this point was Mitch Trubitsky at
number two. Many had Watson, Trubitsky, Mahomes all ranked differently but
Mahomes was usually the third-ranked quarterback going into this draft. Deshaun
Watson was coming off a career at Clemson with a National Championship. The
Chiefs went with Mahomes and the rest is history. The second was due to many
thinking Mahomes was too raw of talent and his footwork was very sloppy.
Little would they find out until he got to the league. His footwork and ability
to make plays with his feet and high football IQ are what make him so dangerous.
It allows him to take the defense and make them move around to create space
for his receivers. 

The 2017-2018 season was not one for the books for Patrick as he only played
one game against the Chargers in the last week of the year due to the team making
the playoffs and Alex Smith sitting due to injury. We did not know yet what we
were about to see. In his 31 games played so far, his record is 24 wins to only
7 losses. In both seasons as a starter, he has been to the Superbowl or within
one game of the Super Bowl. His 76 touchdowns in his first 31 starts are a
record. The Chiefs were shocked as they were the highest-scoring offense in
the league in 2018, the first season with Mahomes at the helm. 

The 2019 playoff run was special and showcased just how dominant this Chiefs
offense could be. Their first game was the AFC Divisional Round playoff. Their
opponent was the Texans and their first-quarter abysmal as they went down 21-0.
Eventually 24-0. Mahomes had a speech that made his teammates want to run
through a brick wall. Unfortunately, not even a brick wall could stop the Chiefs
against the Texans. They scored 41 unanswered off of the arm of Patrick
Mahomes. They won that game 51-31 and scored a touchdown on eight straight
drives after being down by 24 at the start of the second quarter. After taking
care of business with the Derrick Henry led Tennessee Titans, in the AFC
Championship. It was on to the Super Bowl. Where Mahomes had yet another come
from behind victory. With six minutes left the fourth quarter the story seemed
to be over. The score was 20-10 and the 49ers stout defense was in a great
position. The Chief’s scored three straight touchdowns, the first two being
passes from Mahomes. The final score was 31-20 and not only was this his first
Super Bowl, but the first for Kansas City. Now with twelve more years and the
franchise set on success and dominance once again in 2020. There is no
doubt that the team bringing back Chris Jones, Tyrann Mathieu, and Frank Clark
on the defense next season again, the defense can help back up this high octane,
almost impossible to stop the offense. This team is truly set up for success and
will be a competitor for years to come in the AFC conference.

It is without a doubt that Mahomes’ leadership, unique athletic ability, and
the shocking fact that he can now read defenses going forward. With the AFC
only getting stronger with teams such as Tennessee and Baltimore on par to be
the top teams in the conference. Kansas City will need their star quarterback
to continue the team’s success and hopefully make another deep playoff run.
With Tom Brady out of the AFC many think the conference is wide open, it is
hard to believe many experts do not have the Kansas City Chiefs as favorites.
With the supporting cast around Mahomes, he has the keys to succeed for years to
come. Hail to the Chiefs and their new fearless leader for the next decade. So
when you ask if the small sample size conjures the fact that Mahomes has been
handed close to half a billion dollars for the next decade. I say yes. This contract
being ten years sets the team up for success in the future. Sure the contract
puts a dent in the cap space for a couple of years. Kansas City won’t mind
paying this money if Mahomes can bring home more Lombardies.