Ed Reed Reveals Patrick Mahomes's Weakness

Ed Reed has figured out the key to slowing down Patrick Mahomes.
Ed Reed on the field before the Baltimore Ravens took on the Kansas City Chiefs in the NFL playoffs.
Ed Reed on the field before the Baltimore Ravens took on the Kansas City Chiefs in the NFL playoffs. / Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images

Ed Reed retired more than a decade ago back in 2015, which officially means he played at a time before most current NFL players were drafted. Patrick Mahomes for example, was drafted in 2017, so Reed never had the opportunity to play against the three-time Super Bowl champion.

That doesn't mean that Reed hasn't cracked the Mahomes code and identify his weakness(es). He is, after all, a Hall of Famer and one of the best defensive backs to every play the game. So if there's anyone out there who might be able to figure out Mahomes, it could very well be Reed.

During an appearance on Up & Adams on Thursday Reed revealed the key to slowing down the two-time NFL MVP.

"His weakness is his targets that he likes to go to from my perspective," Reed said. "It's not hard to figure that out. You like to throw the ball to certain people. So that's one of 'em for me. I'm going to exploit that. I'm gonna stay around that guy. I'm that guy. He's that guy. And you want to throw to him, you gotta throw to me. You gotta throw around me too. You know, in that situation, you gotta understand the situations when you playing these games, schematically and all that to put yourself in position when you know he's looking for that guy."

There you have it. Simply figure out who Patrick Mahomes likes to throw the ball to and then guard those guys. It seems so obvious now that someone said it out loud.

Unfortunately, Reed didn't tell his former team about this before Mahomes and Travis Kelce connected for 116 yards and a touchdown in an AFC Championship victory over the Ravens last January.


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Stephen Douglas

STEPHEN DOUGLAS

Stephen Douglas is a Senior Writer on the Breaking & Trending News Team at Sports Illustrated. He has been in journalism and media since 2008, and now casts a wide net with coverage across all sports. Stephen spent more than a decade with The Big Lead and has previously written for Uproxx and The Sporting News. He has three children, two degrees and one now unverified Twitter account.