Patrick Mahomes is on pace for a legendary career

Patrick Mahomes’ NFL career has gotten off to a scorching start. He’s on pace to be one of the greatest to ever step onto a football field.

Patrick Mahomes has been a full-time starter for two seasons. He’s already well on his way to putting together one of the best careers in NFL history.

When the Kansas City Chiefs traded up to No. 10 in the 2017 NFL Draft to select Mahomes, they thought they were getting their quarterback of the future. Some agreed, some didn’t. Not many believed Kansas City was picking a future all-time great. Through 36 career starts (31 regular season, five postseason), the former Texas Tech standout has been nothing short of phenomenal.

In his first full season as a starter, Mahomes won the NFL’s MVP award. His campaign was fueled by a 5,097-yard, 50-touchdown regular season — only the third 5,000-50 season in NFL history.

At the time, Mahomes was the youngest player to win the award since Dan Marino in 1984. He then led Kansas City to a near victory in the AFC Championship Game against the New England Patriots, scoring 31 second-half points in a 37-31 overtime loss.

Although the 2019-20 regular season didn’t unfold how the Chiefs expected, it’s ended well. Mahomes battled injuries to his knee and ankle for a large chunk of the year but got healthy in time for a playoff run. Tearing through the AFC playoffs, he won his first championship and a Super Bowl MVP award to cap off his second season as the Chiefs’ starting quarterback.

Looking at the numbers, you see how dominant Mahomes has been in the regular season. He compares quite favorably through his first three years to Tom Brady, who is regarded by many as the greatest quarterback of all-time:

• Brady: 20-10 record, 6,613 yards, 46 TD, 26 INT, 85.9 passer rating
• Mahomes: 24-7 record, 9,412 yards, 76 TD, 18 INT, 108.9 passer rating

It doesn’t stop there. Mahomes also has some of the best per-game production in the playoffs, ranking better than legends like Dan Marino, Joe Montana and Brett Favre (and Brady) at the end of their third years in the league. Simply put: he’s been better than anyone we’ve ever seen this early in his career.

The pieces are there, too. Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce make for two of the best weapons in the league. Andy Reid finally has the Super Bowl ring that’s been missing and can be given the respect he has long deserved. With those three in place, Mahomes should continue to put up historic numbers.

Mahomes’ star is just now rising. At the age of 24, he’s done what most quarterbacks try to do their entire careers. With an MVP and Super Bowl MVP under his belt, in addition to a great stable of weapons and a future Hall of Fame head coach, the new face of the league is set up for a legendary career of his own.