5 NFL Hall of Fame QBs Patrick Mahomes could leapfrog for career passing yards next season ft. Terry Bradshaw, Joe Namath and more
We sometimes forget how young Patrick Mahomes is. He is just 27 years old but Mahomes' career stats have already put him in elite company. He has already won one NFL MVP award and won one Super Bowl. Moreover, he just passed Sammy Baugh for career passing yards. Hall-of-Famer Baugh has 21,886 career passing yards, whereas Mahomes now has 21,927 passing yards.
It got us thinking about which Hall-of-Famer could be next to fall to Mahomes. He is averaging an astonishing 326.2 passing yards per game this season with eight regular-season games remaining. If he were to play at this clip, he would reach above 24,500 regular season passing yards just this season. That would allow him to eclipse Norm Van Brocklin and Otto Graham.
Given this is just an extrapolation, if he were to slightly overperform his averages in the second half of the season, he would reach above 25,092 yards. He would then overtake Hall-of-Famers Bart Starr and Bob Griese. If that is where he indeed finishes on the list by the end of the season, by next campaign he will have five Hall-of-Fame quarterbacks in his sights.
This takes a conservative estimate that if he were to finish the season at 24,500 yards and then have 4,000 yards next campaign, he would reach 28,500 yards. 4,031 yards is the lowest season total of Patrick Mahomes' career in the NFL, hence that has been taken as an estimate for next season.
Hall-of-Famers under threat from Patrick Mahomes onslaught
#1. Bobby Layne, 26,768 yards
Bobby Layne was the last quarterback to win the NFL Championship for the Detroit Lions in 1957, having also won in 1952 and 1953. His trade in 1958 to the Pittsburgh Steelers started the Lions' current accursed drought. He made four Pro Bowls in five seasons with the Steelers but never won another championship. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1967.
#2. George Blanda, 26,920 yards
The oldest player to have played in the NFL at 48 years of age, he was both a placekicker and a quarterback. He won three AFL Championships and was an AFL MVP once in 1961. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1981.
#3. Joe Namath, 27,663 yards
Joe Namath won one Super Bowl with the New York Jets. It is still regarded as one of the greatest upsets in Super Bowl history, marking the first time an AFL team won the trophy. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1985.
#4. Ken Stabler, 27,938 yards
Ken Stabler won Super Bowl XI with the Oakland Raiders under coach John Madden, giving them their first championship victory. He was a four-time Pro-Bowler and was the NFL MVP in 1974. He was posthumously inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2016.
#5. Terry Bradshaw, 27,989 yards
One of the greatest quarterbacks of all time, Terry Bradshaw launched the Pittsburgh Steelers dynasty.
TOP QB of the Decade - Terry Bradshaw
Led the Steelers to a dynasty. Strong arm QB who liked to throw deep. 7 AFC titles in 8 years and 4-0 in Super Bowls over 6 year span in 1970s.
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He won four Super Bowls, two Super Bowl MVPs and one NFL MVP award in his career. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1989.