Patrick Mahomes is obviously a top 5 NFL QB, no matter what any analyst says
Patrick Mahomes has already reached impressive levels of success in his four seasons as the starting quarterback for the Kansas City Chiefs. He has an MVP to his name, a Super Bowl title, a Super Bowl MVP, two All-Pro nods, and four Pro Bowls.
He is truly an elite talent and one of the best quarterbacks in football. That is why chaos took over social media Thursday thanks to the comments of former player and current analyst Sam Acho.
Acho had a rundown of his top five quarterbacks in the NFL, and Mahomes was nowhere to be seen.
I mean I get wanting to be different but you can’t put this on national tv and expect people to take you seriously. Come on Sam Acho and ESPN, you have to be better than this. https://t.co/UcGg7ozYeC
It was a surprising list and may have accomplished exactly what Acho and ESPN wanted it to. It had everyone talking all day and drove attention to the network.
The interesting thing is that the whole point of the segment was to ask if Matthew Stafford was a top quarterback in the NFL. Mahomes not even being in Acho's top five derailed the entire conversation.
Of course, the entire list is subjective. But ESPN is a major network, and what analysts say on the airwaves garners major attention.
Luckily, the Chiefs' star quarterback does not have to worry about his reputation because of this questionable take.
Everyone knows what Patrick Mahomes is capable of
Mahomes is known for making impossible throws from any arm position. But that is not why he is known as one of the best quarterbacks in the game. That honor comes because of his annual dominance in the box score and the overall success of the Chiefs with him leading the way.
He recently finished up a 2021 campaign where he threw for 37 touchdowns and 4,839 yards in the regular season. The Chiefs finished 12-5 for their fourth consecutive season with at least 11 wins.
On First Take, Sam Acho had a top 5 QBs list that excluded Mahomes (Allen, Herbert, Stafford, Rodgers, and Burrow)
Harry Douglas handled about as well as one could. https://t.co/p6iBloyLOG
Then came the playoffs, in which Mahomes had 11 touchdowns and 1,057 yards in three games. Yes, he struggled late against the Cincinnati Bengals in the AFC Championship Game.
But what about the week before when he led his team to an improbable win with nearly no time left against the Buffalo Bills?
The expectations for him are so high that losing in the conference title game in overtime represents some sort of notable failure. Teams around the NFL would trade countless draft capital to get a quarterback even relatively close to Mahomes' level who could guide their team to four consecutive AFC Championship Games.
The 26-year-old quarterback has been to two Super Bowls, has won one of those and has never exited earlier than the conference title games. He has 151 touchdowns in four seasons and is easily the current top candidate to chase some of Tom Brady's all-time records.
Yet he is not even among the top five quarterbacks in the NFL? That is a questionable concept at best and should not worry anyone who roots for the Chiefs star.