Patrick Mahomes in the eyes of NFL coaches and personnel evaluators lives in a tier of his own. So the thought of the three-time Super Bowl MVP wanting to improve any aspect of his game is terrifying.
Yet, as the 28-year-old Mahomes told Chris Simms this week, he believes he can reach a new level of balance.
“I want to get back to attacking downfield,” Mahomes said, “just because I feel like it opens everyone else up, makes it easier for guys, makes it easier for the run game, makes it easier for Trav (Kelce) to work in space, or Rashee (Rice), all these different guys.
“These last few years I’ve been more underneath than I’ve ever been and so I want to find that balance of where I can attack downfield but still hit underneath stuff as well.”
With general manager Brett Veach and head coach Andy Reid on the same page, the Chiefs drafted the fastest player in scouting combine history, Xavier Worthy, in the first round.
And if that didn’t already scare the confetti out of you, Mahomes also wants to channel his inner Tom Brady.
“I think you saw with Tom and that middle part of his career where he was attacking downfield but also picking you apart underneath. You can never be satisfied in this league. Everybody’s coming for you, the defenses are getting better. There are other great quarterbacks in this league so how can I make myself better to go out there and be even a better quarterback than I was the year before?”
Mahomes will have to wait to attack downfield with one of his receivers. Reid told reporters Friday that Hollywood Brown (sternoclavicular posterior dislocation) is unlikely to play when Kansas City hosts Baltimore in the league’s annual kickoff game Thursday night.
But he is expected to have Rice, after the league clarified the timeline on his potential suspension for violation of the Personal Conduct Policy.