Patrick Mahomes is considered by many to be the Future GOAT. So far, in his seven-year-long career, Mahomes has matched and bettered TB12’s accomplishments. Hence many argue that if Mahomes manages to stay consistent like Brady, he will etch his name into the Michael Jordan category of GOATs. Luckily for him, there already seems to be a similarity between him and the greatest American athlete of all time.
In the latest edition of The Colin Cowherd Podcast, the veteran sports analyst drew a very interesting parallel between KC Chiefs superstar Patrick Mahomes and NBA GOAT Michael Jordan. Cowherd believes that Patrick Mahomes’ composure and maturity as a player is currently at the same stage as Jordan was when he was in the middle of his second three-peat.
Apart from the absolute greatness in talent, the growth that the Chiefs QB has exhibited in the last four years boils down to his ability to execute layups. Mahomes, like Jordan, is now very careful about expending his energy on the pitch allowing him to give his all in the big moments. Hence, just like Jordan, Mahomes knows how to hold it off until the opportune moment.
“I would compare Michael to Mahomes. There is absolute Artistry but Mahomes is better today than four years ago for the same reason Michael was better in his second three-peat than his first. It is that he took the layups and he had great discretion on the use of energy like Michael knew to hold it off.”
Cowherd then pointed out an example from Mahomes’ play to prove his point. The veteran analyst noted that despite having the ability to run all game, the Chiefs superstar picks the pivotal quarters and instances of the match to expend his energy.
“Michaels and Mahomes now take the layups. They conserve energy. Like Patrick could run all the time. But it’s always interesting [that] he runs always on the Third and one or fourth and one in the fourth quarter, he could do that all game.”
Fellow analyst on the show Nick Wright also expanded on Cowherd’s assessment with his own insights. Wright, through his assessment, gave an interesting perspective on why Patrick Mahomes’ ‘dad-bod’ is the ideal body type for QBs.
Nick Wright Defends Patrick Mahomes’ Dad Bod
Extending Colin’s insight, Wright noted that Mahomes rarely gets caught when he chooses to run. This is because of two reasons – First, it shows his elite ability to evade sacks and assess spaces. Second, it is a by-product of his ability to conserve energy. Due to this, his success ratio of runs improves whenever he chooses to.
“I think he is a better athlete than people think because he’s never caught, man. When was the last time Mahomes chose to run in a big spot and didn’t get where he was trying to get to like?” asked Wright.
Wright then shifted his attention to Patrick’s polarising ‘dad bod’ as a reason for his sturdy evasions. While we have been conditioned to see top sports athletes flaunting a single-digit body fat percentage, Mahomes’ ‘dad bod’ is a breath of fresh air.
Indeed some might call it lazy, but Wright notes that Mahomes’ ability to withstand tackles during his runs comes from the small layer of protection, i.e. fat. Hence he argued that most QBs should have a body like Mahomes to withstand tackles.
That’s actually what your quarterback should look like, have a little extra [fat] you know and I understand Brady in his later years [was chieseled]. But it’s like no, I’m gonna have muscle underneath and [fat] as a layer of protection almost you know what I mean and I think that is smart.
All said and done, it will be interesting to see Patrick Mahomes pursuing the NFL’s first-ever three-peat. While the QB is at the top of his game, the Chiefs have retained their core and made smart signings at the same time. So, will Mahomes & Co. make history this year?
