Marcus Allen, like everyone else, loves watching Patrick Mahomes play

Pro Football Hall of Famer Marcus Allen recently spoke with FanSided about Patrick Mahomes’s brilliance, Jon Gruden’s rough start, and the upcoming AKC National Championship Dog Show.

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes has taken the NFL by a storm in 2018, even though it’s just his first season under center as a starting quarterback. Mahomes has dazzled fans with jaw-dropping, Aaron Rodgers-level throws, and he’s the favorite to win the MVP award with 326.9 passing yards per game, 9.1 passing yards per attempt, and a whopping 41 touchdown passes through 12 games.

Marcus Allen knows a thing or two about performing at the absolute highest level in the NFL. A six-time Pro Bowler, Allen is both a College Football Hall of Famer and a Pro Football Hall of Famer, as he’s the only player in history to win a Super Bowl, a Heisman Trophy, an NCAA National Title, a Super Bowl MVP, and an NFL MVP.

FanSided interviewed Allen via email, and the Hall of Famer has nothing but praise for Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes.

“Patrick Mahomes is exciting to watch,” Allen said. “I think he’s only beginning to scratch the surface of what I see as an amazing career ahead.”

As the saying goes, game recognize game. Allen won the MVP award as a Los Angeles Raider in his fourth NFL season, so he understands how special it is for a young player to exceed the hype and shine.

Given that Allen is a Raiders legend who helped lead the team to Super Bowl glory in 1983-84, his opinion on current Raiders head coach Jon Gruden is also noteworthy. Gruden’s second stint in Oakland hasn’t gone as planned, as the team sits in last in the AFC West with a 2-10 record, having traded stars Khalil Mack and Amari Cooper this year.

Allen is preaching patience and believes that fans should give Gruden time to let his plan for the team develop, “I think long-term the Raiders will be fine. Everyone wants microwave success – they want an immediate transformation. But some things take time. I’m sure he has a long-term plan to give the Raiders fans what they want: a championship.”

When Allen won the MVP award in 1985, he dashed for 1,759 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns, a feat which has only been accomplished twice in the past decade (by Chris Johnson and Adrian Peterson, respectively).

This year, no running back is averaging 100 rushing yards per game, while 24 quarterbacks have a QB Rating of at least 90.0.

The game has certainly changed, but Allen knows that his skill-set would still translate well in 2018. After all, he was the first player in league history to amass 10,000 rushing yards and 5,00 receiving yards in his career, “At the risk of sounding overly confident, I think I would do quite well. One area in particular would be the increased numbers in receptions. I think my skill set could fare well in any period of the NFL, and this period would be no exception.”

And finally, Allen spoke about the upcoming AKC National Championship Dog Show, presented by Royal Canin, which airs on Jan. 1, 2019.

“Dogs have been a part of my life for long as I can remember,” Allen said. “When presented with the opportunity to be a part of the AKC National Championship Dog Show Presented by Royal Canin, I couldn’t pass up the chance to show my love for dogs and to highlight our family dog, Zoey. My role is to encourage all dog lovers to share photos of their dogs on social media and share what breed will take top honors at the AKC National Championship Dog Show, all for a chance to have their dogs’ photo featured on the broadcast. And of course, I think Wheaton Terriers are the best.”