Patrick Mahomes Takes Top Spot in Annual Quarterback Tier Survey

Following an MVP and Super MVP-winning campaign, Mahomes is a unanimous top-tier quarterback in The Athletic's poll.

The Kansas City Chiefs only go as far as Patrick Mahomes can take them, and the rest of the league found out just how powerful he is when he willed the club not only to another division crown, but also a world championship following an MVP-caliber regular season.

For Mahomes, his accomplishments at the age of 27 rival those of some of the best signal-callers to ever play the sport. He's on a clear Hall of Fame trajectory and is one of the most talented players to ever assume his position. The Chiefs' best player doesn't have a ton of doubters left, and those around the league have grown to respect him to the highest degree. 

In The Athletic's annual "NFL Quarterback Tiers" list from Mike Sando, input from 50 NFL coaches and executive staff members was factored into a ranking of 30 different NFL quarterbacks. Five separate tiers sorted through the traffic, although it didn't take long to find Mahomes's name on the list. Taking home both a unanimous Tier 1 ranking and the top overall spot, Mahomes drew praise from multiple people. One executive compared him to Aaron Rodgers: 

“He’s clearly the best player in the league and just entering the front end of his prime window,” an exec said. “He reminds so much of Rodgers. This is the time in his career where, just like Rodgers, the final polishing of his game will be in his play-clock manipulation, calling timeouts and knowing even better when to give up on plays.”

One massive question mark for Kansas City heading into the 2022-23 campaign was how Andy Reid's offense — and Mahomes — would look after losing wideout Tyreek Hill via trade. After being perhaps the most dangerous unit in the NFL for years on end, could Mahomes take a patchwork group of solid contributors and elevate them to a championship level? He answered that question when he propelled the Chiefs to a 14-3 regular season record and threw for 5,250 yards and 41 touchdowns. He then played through a high-ankle sprain in the postseason and got his second Super Bowl ring in the process, which is what stood out to one coordinator: 

“The thing that really showed last year was just how much he was willing himself and the team,” an offensive coordinator said. “He was not going to let that be the reason, and if it did become the reason, I doubt he would have said that was the reason.”

It's well documented that Mahomes turns pressure into diamonds. He's likely the NFL's best quarterback against the blitz, and his winning record when down by 10 points at any point in a game puts him on a historic pedestal. One head coach documented Mahomes's success against just about any type of defense and any type of situation: 

“Some guys do better with more man pressure, knowing there are less people in coverage and they can throw the football even if they are going to get hit,” another head coach said. “Some guys like to play against quarterback-vision zone defenses. Then you have the freak shows who can do all that and play off schedule. Mahomes is at the top of that list.”

In Tier 1 of The Athletic's survey, Mahomes is followed by Joe Burrow (1.02 average score), Josh Allen (1.12), Rodgers (1.40) and Justin Herbert (1.42). Burrow received 49 Tier 1 votes, Allen received 44, Rodgers received 30 and Herbert checked in with a 29-21 Tier 1 versus Tier 2 split.

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