Caleb Harris
In addition to being the ruler Super Bowl MVP, Patrick Mahomes is the proud owner of another title, albeit an unofficial one. Mahomes recently said that he proudly wears the title of NFL “old man’s” new quarterback, despite still only being 28 years old.
Still young, Mahomes is right to say he is the new face of football’s most important position, taking over the baton from Tom Brady after seven games Super Bowl champion retired two years ago. And speaking of other quarterbacks, Mahomes also recently shared the three quarterbacks he most enjoys watching.
“There’s a couple,” Mahomes said on FS1’s “First Things First” this week. “I like watching Josh [Allen] quite. We play against a lot of similar opponents. He plays a similar style of football to me. So I always watch what the Bills do and try to pick up some of the things they do.
“I really enjoy watching C.J. Stroud right now, man. He’s been there and he’s making plays happen. And then I would say probably Joe [Burrow]just because we play on the same teams, so watching him play definitely gives me some ideas of what we can do on offense.
“But I mean, the thing about the NFL there are a lot of great quarterbacks now,” Mahomes continued. “I’m an old guy now and I have to keep that title as the old guy, but I’m going to try to continue to do everything I can to be the best I can be.”
Allen and Burrow shouldn’t be a surprise. Both defenders are also considered among the best in the league and have been doing so for some time. As Mahomes alluded to, Allen’s unique athleticism helped make him one of the NFL most dangerous players and contributed to the Bills becoming one of the AFC’s top-tier teams over the past half-decade.
Although he is more of a prototypical quarterback, Burrow has had similar success to Allen and Mahomes during his time with the Bengals. In fact, Burrow is the only quarterback not named Brady to beat Mahomes in the playoffs. In fact, Burrow has a 3-1 record in matchups against Mahomes dating back to the 2021 season, when the Bengals overcame a 21-3 halftime deficit to surprise the Chiefs in the AFC Championship game.
Stroud is part of a new wave of quarterbacks who are starting to carve out a niche for themselves. Last year’s Offensive Rookie of the Year, Stroud set several rookie passing records en route to leading the Texans to a surprising division title. Stroud should be even better this year with the offseason acquisition of perennial Pro Bowler (and Allen’s former Bills teammate) Stefon Diggs.
Each of the quarterbacks Mahomes mentioned serves as a reminder that while several legendary signal-callers have retired in recent years, the position is still alive and well, with the Chiefs’ two-time league MVP leading the way.
