There are many QBs in the NFL who are one trait away from being great. Whether it be accuracy, decision-making, or even the current situation they are in; many QBs have that one thing they are lacking that is holding them back from taking the next step in their development. Then there is Patrick Mahomes.
Mahomes is the supreme being in the NFL universe, and his powers are simply unlike anything we have ever seen before. It is extremely possible that Patrick Mahomes has collected all six of the quarterback Infinity Stones and inherited these traits other QBs are missing. Allow me to explain.
Deshaun Watson: Reality Stone (Situation)
To put it gently, Deshaun Watson’s current situation with the Texans makes even Sam Darnold glad he’s not in Houston. One of the league’s best young signal-callers, Watson’s biggest obstacle so far in his NFL career has been the organization for which he plays. The Texans have seemingly gone out of their way to screw Watson over every chance they can, even after letting go of Bill O’Brien.
Including O’Brien’s tenure, Houston has shipped Watson’s best weapon DeAndre Hopkins out for a second round pick and a 30-year-old running back, they have decimated their draft capital, and have now publicly butted heads with their franchise cornerstone; causing him to demand a trade.
Compare this to the situation Mahomes is enjoying in Kansas City; where he is paired with an innovative head coach in Andy Reid, and a franchise that is committing to building around Mahomes for the foreseeable future. For two guys that came from the same draft class, their realities couldn’t be further apart from one another.
Tom Brady: Time Stone (Age)
Tom Brady is historically the greatest quarterback of all-time. There really isn’t much of a debate. The 43-year-old Brady seems as if he could play forever, and it looks like he’s trying his best to make that happen. Brady is coming off one of his best seasons as a pro, capped off with a Super Bowl title in his first season in Tampa Bay. He finished third among all QBs in passing yards (4,616), second in touchdowns (40), and led the league in air yards per attempt (9.1).
There simply isn’t anything Brady can’t do on a football field. Literally the only thing that can stop him is time itself, something that very much is in the favor of the 25-year-old Patrick Mahomes. With the end of Brady’s reign over the NFL creeping closer and closer (although he sure didn’t look 43 years old this year), time is no doubt on the side of Mahomes as he enters into his own era as the face of the league. Seven rings is a steep mountain to climb, but Mahomes looks as capable as anyone to make a run at immortality.
Lamar Jackson: Power Stone (Accuracy)
Lamar Jackson is one of the most dynamic players in the NFL, regardless of position. Still just 24 years old, Jackson already has an MVP to his name, and is coming off back-to-back 1,000 yard rushing campaigns. There is little doubt as to how dangerous Jackson is with his legs, but he still has yet to progress as a passer as much as we had hoped.
In his two full seasons as a starter, Jackson has never finished inside the top-ten in true completion percentage (his career-high 74.9% this year ranked just 18th among all qualified QBs), and has struggled to consistently make plays with his arm. His This has caused the Ravens offense to heavily rely on the ground game, ranking last in the NFL in pass plays per game in every season since Jackson became the starter.
While Jackson’s incredible ability as a runner can certainly mask some of the underlying problems, it is obvious that his limited ability as a passer significantly caps his overall ceiling. Mahomes on the other hand…
Russell Wilson: Space Stone (Consistency)
While Mr. Unlimited is without a doubt one of the best QBs in football, his fantasy football production each season always seems to follow a similar trend. Russell Wilson has such a disparity in his splits between weeks 1-8 and 9-16 of each season; a concerning correlation that continued throughout the year.
Through the season’s first eight weeks Wilson never scored fewer than 20 fantasy points in any game; compared to just two 20+ point games the rest of the season. When he’s hot, Wilson can put up elite QB1 numbers against any opponent. It’s becoming more and more apparent however that Wilson simply can not keep that level of production up over an entire season.
After throwing for 28 touchdowns over the first half of the season, Wilson sputtered to just 12 touchdowns the rest of the way. His completion percentage dropped from 71.3% all the way down to 66.1%, and his yards per attempt plummeted from 8.7 down to 6.35. For everything Russell Wilson does at an elite level (such as operating outside of the constraints of limits), the one glaring hole that always ends up defining his seasons is the inconsistency and stark contrast created by his season splits.
Patrick Mahomes, on the other hand, has solidified himself as one of the safest bets in fantasy, and possesses the upside to singlehandedly win any given week’s matchup.
Aaron Rodgers: Soul Stone (Clutch)
Aaron Rodgers is a very talented QB. Let’s just get that out of the way now. He is perhaps among the most talented QBs to ever play the position. That said, Mahomes is simply better. Before Rodgers’ MVP campaign this year, Mahomes had already accomplished everything Rodgers had in his entire career, in two seasons as a starter.
In his first two season as a starter, Patrick Mahomes had an MVP, a 5,000 yard (and 50 TD) season, and a Super Bowl run fueled by late game comebacks. Rodgers, for all he has accomplished in his career, has never won another Super Bowl after Green Bay’s in ‘09. He’s also never been to another thanks to a now lengthy history of disappointing playoff defeats.
Rodgers is one of the most accomplished passers in NFL history, but his playoff record leaves a lot to be desired. It’s something which will always leave a stain on an otherwise legendary career. Mahomes, meanwhile, has hosted a conference championship game every season he has been a starter, and probably should have made it to three straight Super Bowls if not for Dee Ford. When it comes to crunch time, Mahomes simply turns Rodgers to dust.
Jameis Winston: Mind Stone (Brain)
This one is pretty straightforward, but Jameis Winston has lost his damn mind. He is an absolute electric factory whenever the ball is in his hands, in no small part due to the fact that Winston sometimes does things that make you think he legitimately does not have a brain. He’s never seen a throw he can’t attempt (notice I didn’t say complete), and he has given us some of the greatest physical comedy out of the QB position. Winston clearly has the size and arm talent to make NFL throws, but, like the scarecrow in The Wizard of Oz, would be a lot better off if he only had a brain.
