It’s safe to say that Patrick Mahomes enters the 2018 NFL season with some exceedingly high expectations on his shoulders.
The Kansas City Chiefs shipped out his only real competition in Alex Smith, who was traded to Washington. Then they invested heavily in free agency to provide another weapon for the young passer.
As if that weren’t enough pressure, just check out what Mahomes’ former teammate, Tamba Hali, had to say about him in a recent appearance on NFL Network’s Good Morning Football.
“You’re going to get a complete player,” Hali said. “I mean, he’s a smart player. He can throw the ball. Athletically, he’s gifted. You don’t have to coach it.
“In practice I’d watch him just look guys off. I mean, Eric Berry, you look him off and complete the ball. He did it to Marcus Peters a lot. So, people don’t know what’s coming. I don’t want to hype him, but I compare him to Brett Favre. He runs around the field and he throws the ball and he’s just having fun.”
Whew.
Now, it’s worth noting that it seems like every big-armed young prospect ends up getting compared to Favre at some point. But this isn’t a comparison to be taken lightly, given Hali’s background as one of the game’s best pass rushers at one point and a player who watched Mahomes quite a bit last year.
If Mahomes does live up to expectations, then the Chiefs are going to be set at the most important position on the field for a very long time. It’s going to be fun to see how he develops in the coming years.