Welcome to the 5-1 Rankings for the r/NFL Top 100 Players of the 2022 Season!
Link to Previous Post (10-6)
Players whose average rank landed them in places 5-1 are on this portion of the list revealed today. Players are associated with the team they finished playing for at the end of the 2022 season
Below you will see some write-ups from the rankers summarizing the players’ 2022 season and why they were among the best in 2022. Additionally, their ranks from previous years are available for y’all to see
METHODOLOGY
Link to more detailed writeup on our methodology
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Step 1: A Call to Rankers right after the Conference Championship games
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Step 2: Rankers from each team nominated players to rank, with a 11 game minimum threshold. Players are associated with the team they played for in 2022
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Step 3: The Grind. We instructed users to tier positions groups into T25, T50, etc based on 2022 regular season play only. This took several weeks as the rankers tiered each position group and discussed them. There were no individual player threads and no arbitrary position caps. Just questions and rankings.
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Step 4: Users submitted their own personal Top 125 lists.
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Step 5: User lists were reviewed by myself, u/mattkud , and u/MikeTysonChicken . The rankers were expected to answer questions about their lists. They were allowed to make any changes to their list, and were not forced to make any changes
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Step 6: The Reveal… where we are now!
And without further ado, here are the Top 5 players in the r/NFL Top 100 Players of the 2022 Season!
#5 - Jalen Hurts - Philadelphia Eagles - Quarterback
Previous Ranks
| 2021 | 2020 |
|---|---|
| N/A | N/A |
Key Stat:
Converted 82% of first downs on running plays from 1 or 2 yards to go, the highest out of any player in the league with 25 or more attempts
Written by: u/wrhslax1996
Introduction
If someone had told me a year ago that I’d be sitting here in July 2023 putting together a r/NFL Top 100 top-10 write-up for Jalen Hurts, I would have probably laughed in your face and told you to stop being an idiot. That’s not to say that I didn’t like Hurts last summer, I definitely did and I wanted him to be “the guy” more than anything. I just saw what he did in 2021 and, while it definitely was not bad QB play, it was not enough for me to totally buy-in. Then the 2022 season happened and 4,461 yards, 35 TDs, and only 8 turnovers later, I think it’s safe to call me an absolute moron for doubting the ever-improving Jalen Hurts. This is a man who was benched for the younger and, at the time, hotter young QB on the biggest stage. While many would have quit (or at the very least publicly showed some serious damage to their pride and confidence), he persevered and took his talents to a team that would continue to nurture his still-progressing abilities as a Quarterback. When he slipped into the 2nd round of the NFL draft, he did not bat an eye and took it upon himself to work hard and continue improving, eventually supplanting Carson Wentz as the starter of the Philadelphia Eagles. When the 2021 season ended on a sour note, with Jalen and the team playing a really ugly game against the Tampa Bay Bucs in the playoffs, Hurts buckled down and, yet again, worked his ass off to come back stronger, faster, and better in 2022. This dude just refuses to stagnate and is, clearly, never complacent. He strives for greatness when things are going well and he strives for greatness when he is beaten down and that, in my opinion, is the most admirable quality a football player can have. I am immensely stoked to have him as the Quarterback of my favorite team and I’m unbelievably excited to be tasked with this write-up. With all that being said, let’s get into the fun.
2022 Season
Jalen Hurts was an absolute menace for opposing defenses throughout 2022. He took massive steps forward as a passer while continuing his dominance as a rusher. We’ll start with the rushing because, as expected, Hurts continued his ability to put folks in an absolute blender throughout the season. We’ll start with this clip right here for a couple of reasons. Nate Tice included a couple different clips, but I want to draw your attention to the first one where the Eagles are running G-T counter-read. On the snap, Mailata and Dickerson pull through and Hurts has his eyes downfield reading the defense. He sees the backside EDGE stay home to stuff Miles Sanders so he elects to keep the ball and follows his blockers perfectly. There’s nothing super fancy about this play but it does show how teams have to respect a lot of different things on any given play the Eagles run. The EDGE has to respect the handoff, the linebackers have to respect the players possibly going on routes, and that frees things up for Hurts to do what he does here. On any given play, defenses have to defend the possibility of handoff, QB run, or pass which is always going to leave something open for the taking. Running an offense like that isn’t really doable without a player like Hurts at the helm. One thing I really want to highlight in this section is how strong Hurts is as a runner. While, as a fan, I wouldn’t say no to seeing him slide a little more in order to preserve his longevity, it’s really hard to complain when your QB is doing stuff like this. He reads the outside EDGE well, in this case, noting that he moves upfield to trail the RB. Hurts keeps the ball, but the Vikings still have 3 defenders over 2 blockers on the right. He initially wants to take his run outside but sees the safety crashing down and, knowing that he probably doesn’t have the straight-line speed to make that corner, Hurts stops on a dime and immediately cuts it upfield. By that point, although he’s turned it into a positive play, the LB has disengaged from the pile of humans clogging the middle of the field and should, by all means, be able to shut down the play. But Hurts, who squats 600 lbs or some shit, just keeps churning his legs and fights through multiple Vikings to score a TD. That’s a QB who is just built different. The last rush I really want to show you is this one against the Vikings. The Eagles are running an RPO here and Hurts keeps the ball and ends up taking it himself down the right sideline. He gets a comfortable first down and carries it down to about the 15 yard line. He looks bottled up with 4 defenders and only 2 blockers in the vicinity. He fights through every single person down there, breaking three tackles and scoring even though he was wrapped up two separate times between the 10 and 5 yard lines. That is just ridiculous strength.
As a passer Hurts was really good in 2022. He established himself as one of the best throwers of the go ball in the NFL last year. He did this against the Bears with a sprained shoulder! That’s a ridiculous throw with insane touch right into AJ Brown's arms without making him break stride. Here’s another one vs the Giants where he leads Devonta Smith perfectly to score a huge TD. Now, I won’t lie, this is a slightly dangerous ball with a single-high safety drifting towards that side of the field, but the throw itself is immaculate especially with significant pressure bearing down on him from both the blindside EDGE and up the middle. It also exemplifies an area where Hurts took huge strides in 2022 - staying strong in the pocket and using his arm to just deliver death blows. In 2021 he would have bailed from that pocket immediately and, while it probably would’ve ended up a positive play, I don’t think it would’ve been a TD. In 2022, he stays tough, steps up into limited space, absorbs a pretty big hit, and throws a really nice ball. Speaking of staying in the pocket and delivering strikes in the face of significant pressure, here’s a 3rd down conversion to Quez Watkins. He has a free rusher in his face almost immediately but he delivers a clutch throw on the money to convert and live another down. He was genuinely stone cold last year. The last part of the passing game I really want to touch on here is his anticipation and touch. Here’s another 3rd down conversion against the Giants where he throws with some really impressive anticipation to Devonta Smith. That ball is out well before Smith completes his break but Hurts knows where the ball needs to go, where Smith will be, and where the opposing defender cannot reach and delivers a perfect strike. I’ll include this play against the Commanders to show the level of touch and precision he can put on a ball. He has the utmost faith in his WRs and that shows here, as he puts a beautiful ball right where only Devonta Smith can make a play on it. That is not something I saw a ton in 2021 but saw it very often last year and it impressed me greatly. Here’s a play from the Super Bowl where Hurts uncorks a literally perfect ball to Dallas Goedert who makes an insane catch. Hurts throwing to the sidelines is an absolute thing of beauty and, while playoffs are not taken into account for ranking purposes, I could not resist putting this clip in there. I mean just watch it. Hurts layers that ball between two defenders, both of which either have a PBU or an INT if that ball is anything but perfect. That’s a big time throw from a guy who was pretty green only a year ago. I’ll close out this section with two more clips. This is just an insane play on a scramble drill and I want to highlight his ability to get outside, let his defenders work towards the boundaries, flip his hips, and put the ball where only his guys have a chance of getting it. That’s just stellar improvisation. This clip is much of the same.
Legacy
Hurts legacy moving forward is still largely unknown. He has improved every single year since he was in college and last year he was just so close to winning it all. While I doubted him last year, I will never do so again. He has proven me and everyone wrong each and every year while continuing to improve and hone his craft. Knowing who he is as a competitor, he will stop at nothing until he wins one (or multiple) Superbowl(s). In his second year as an established starter, he earned his first pro-bowl bid and Second-Team All Pro honors. The sky is the absolute limit for this guy and, with a new contract and a lot of money now in his pocket I have no doubt that he’s ready to buckle down and keep winning. Congrats to Jalen Hurts on earning his spot in the r/NFL Top 10 players of the 2022 season.
#4 - Travis Kelce - Kansas City Chiefs - Tight End
Previous Ranks
| 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30 | 7 | 15 | 13 | 31 | 28 | N/A | 83 | N/A |
Key Stat:
3rd season with 1300 receiving yards, no other tight end in NFL history has multiple such seasons
Written by: u/TheUltimate721
INTRODUCTION:
NEW NEWS! Another Kelce Brother is in the top 100, and Travis comes into our top ten after yet another dominant season. In celebration of his upcoming tenth season, let's give a brief recap of his career so far.
Travis was drafted with the 63rd overall pick in the 2013 NFL draft, Andy Reid's first season in Kansas City. He didn't play his rookie year, dealing with an injury, but he was mentored by the journeyman tight end Anthony Fasano. When Travis stepped onto the field for the first time in 2014, he immediately made an impact, leading the team in receiving yards at 862 with 5 touchdown catches. Travis found success again in the 2015 season, with 875 receiving yards and 5 touchdowns, but his hothead attitude would cause him problems on multiple occasions. Travis showed that he could be an elite player in 2016, where he amassed 1125 receiving yards and was named first team All-Pro. In 2018, transitioning from a run first offense with Alex Smith to a pass heavy one with Patrick Mahomes, he exploded yet again, amassing 1336 yards and 10 touchdowns (Which broke the record for single season receiving yards by a tight end, but it got broken again by George Kittle later on the same day). Needless to say he was integral in the Chiefs 2019 Super Bowl campaign and was even better in 2020, breaking that single season yardage record for tight ends again at 1416 yards, and even set a record for most receiving yards by a tight end in a Superbowl.
There was a lot of talk about the Chiefs in the 2022 offseason, everyone's eyes were on them again, but this time with a lot more skepticism. One particularly popular idea repeated by media personalities was that Tyreek Hill's absence would in theory free up more defenders to cover Travis Kelce, so he wouldn't have close to the level of production that he's had over the last several seasons.
THE 2022 SEASON:
Travis and the others took this sentiment personally, and refuted it early and often. Week 1 Travis started off with 121 receiving yards and a touchdown. He continued to cause nightmares for Lavonte David when he put up 92 yards and a touchdown against the Buccaneers when the Chiefs avenged the Superbowl 55 loss in Week 4. The next week he was integral in the comeback against the Radiers on Monday Night Football, catching 4 touchdown passes as a lethal weapon in the Red Zone. Against an underrated Titans defense, Travis was targeted 17 times as the Chiefs abandoned the run game in the most literal sense possible, netting 10 receptions and 106 yards.
Travis is a self described flanker. He's too big for the typical corner to handle, and too fast for a linebacker. An excellent mismatch for Andy Reid to exploit, but what makes him so special is that Travis plays the Tight End position with a quarterback's mentality. He's probably the smartest person on the field other than the guy throwing him the ball, because he knows exactly what every other player on the team is doing. The protection, the routes, the reads, the coverages... no other tight end knows every aspect of the play quite like he does, and because of this mentality Andy Reid gives him the ability to ad-lib his routes and assignments to choose what he thinks will be the most effective on a given play. The end result? Thousands of angry opposing team fans constantly screaming "How the hell is Travis Kelce so open on every play?"
For the longest time, Derwin James was considered one of the only players that can contain Travis Kelce, but even he was powerless to stop Travis from amassing 115 receiving yards and 3 touchdowns. Jalen Ramsey was no match for Travis when the Chiefs beat the Rams. He played almost perfectly against Houston and Seattle, getting 105 and 113 receiving yards respectively between the two games.
All in all, Travis finished the 2022 season with 110 catches for 1338 yards and 12 touchdowns, career highs for receptions and touchdowns. Part of what makes this season so special for Travis though is that no other tight end even came close to being as effective as him. The next closest tight end (T.J. Hockenson) had 914 receiving yards on the season, over 400 yards less than Travis, and the second team all pro (Kittle) had fewer touchdowns and almost 600 fewer receiving yards. Overall 2022 was a down year for Tight Ends production wise... Except for Travis, who must be a vampire with how he seems to only be getting better as he gets older.
LEGACY:
Any debates regarding Travis Kelce's legacy at this point are going to include the words "greatest" in them. He's already a first ballot Hall of Famer whenever he retires, so where do you go after that? Greatest TE in Chiefs history? Greatest QB-Pass Catcher duo of all time? Greatest Tight End of all time? They're all pretty tough marks to beat but Travis has as good of a shot as anyone of getting them.
His 10,344 career receiving yards is currently fourth all time among tight ends. Where he's going to end up on that record depends on two things: 1) How long will he keep playing for and 2) Can he keep playing as dominant as he has been. If we were to assume that Travis plays until he's 37 years old (Which is how old Tony Gonzales was when he retired), and that he has roughly the same production he has for the last five years, so 4 more seasons averaging 1288 yards and 9.4 touchdowns, he would end up #1 for career receiving yards for tight ends with 15,496 receiving yards and #3 for receiving touchdowns with 106 (Antonio Gates has 116 and Tony G has 111).
That sounds pretty crazy for a 33+ year old Tight End to be doing, but he's already doing some pretty damn crazy stuff for tight ends. Travis has a streak of seven consecutive 1000 yard seasons currently going. No other tight end has ever had more than four total 1000 yard seasons, as well as the most 100 yard games of any tight end in NFL history at 35.
Regardless, Travis Kelce is one of the all time greats, and I for one, am going to enjoy watching his legendary connection with his quarterback while it lasts.
#3 - Justin Jefferson - Minnesota Vikings - Wide Receiver
Previous Ranks
| 2021 | 2020 |
|---|---|
| 16 | 33 |
Key Stat:
39 of the Top 40 scrimmage yards leaders through their first 3 seasons are either running backs or fullbacks. 17th place Justin Jefferson is the only wideout
Written by: u/SoDakZak
Accolades
| Accolade | Total | Years |
|---|---|---|
| NFL Pro Bowl | 3 | 2020-22 |
| NFL AP OPOY | 1 | 2022 |
| AP All-Pro 1st Team | 1 | 2022 |
| AP All-Pro 2nd Team | 2 | 2020-21 |
| PFWA All-Rookie Team | 1 | 2020 |
| CFP Nat. Champion | 1 | 2019 |
Introduction
Justin Jefferson is known as JJ, but few know he’s actually JJJ (Justin Joshua Jefferson).
Born and raised in Destrehan, Louisiana he has a long way to go to be the most accomplished NFL player from this town with barely 10k people. Ed Reed hails from that town, and even sticking to receivers; JJ has his work cut out to catch the career stats of Joe Horn: 2 more Pro-Bowls to even pass “Receiver with most pro-bowls from Destrehan, Louisiana.” Heck, it’s almost debatable if he even has the most widely known TD celebration since Joe Horn is famous for this gem.
Sticking to this tiny town; it’s apparent in his young career that a phrase coined by Destrehan native Jim Mora are words to live by, as Justin Jefferson has yet to win a game in the postseason.
sad gjallarhorn noises
The 2022 Season
If you want the historical context to understand Vikings fans’ emotions and hype around Justin, Jon Bois will be releasing a 7-part mock documentary on the Vikings between now and football season. You’ll want to watch it, because inevitably it will bubble up to the JJettas era and how we came into and experienced this season for JJ. His first two seasons set an impossibly high bar. One that basically put him on a trajectory of… “hey kid, you better be better than every receiver except maybe Jerry Rice and Randy Moss.” So what does he do going into year 3??
He sets a personal goal for 2,000 yards receiving ….and then…?
…He almost did just that.
We had a JJ2k on r/MinnesotaVikings for Cris-sake.
Game 1: FTP with a 9 catch 184 yard and 2 TD performance. I was at this game and the only cheer that was louder than Justin turning this into a TD, was Christian Watson dropping this bomb. We really do hate the Packers more than we love the Vikings.
Game 2: Philly Slay-ed him.
Game 3: Detroit murdered him. This two game stretch seriously took the wind out of the JJ2k sails.
Game 4: 147 yards with a rushing TD in “Lahndahn” against the Saints ... .we think this is going to be the most incredibly close game this entire season.
oh, you sweet summer child…
Game 5: Da Bears (known for their defense) hold him to 154 yards.
Game 6, 7, 8: yawn. 320 yards a TD with three W’s. This was a weird stretch where he went 600 yards without a TD.
Game 9: Holy shit. JUSTHIM JEFFERDAD IS A GOD. Surely this is the most impressive comeback win for our season?!
Game 10: We need to stop playing the NFC East the week after our most iconic games as a franchise. This is one of 6 games where JJ didn’t hit 50 yards receiving. Anyone else actually surprised his total was so high when he had SIX games under 50 including two with 15 yards or less?!
Game 11: Ayy I’m Thankful for JJ and that Vikings fans get to remember him and Adam Thielen sharing a Turkey Leg after a win against some guy named William Beltcheck and the NommingLand Fat-riots.
Game 12: Jettas beats the Jets. JJ still gets a TD but only 45 yards.
Game 13: Justin had 223 yards, surely the Vikings won…. (Can we note that 223 yards is a LOT to have without crossing the goal line??)
Game 14: gg Indy, easy cakewalk win everyone expected over a first time head coach on a Saturday. 123 yards and a TD.
Game 15: 133 yards and his final TD of the season. We beat the Giants in our house. This should be a blueprint we can use the next time we play ‘em.
Game 16:
JJ: “When Lambo?”
Kwesi: “Lambo when Lambeau Win”
JJ: one catch, 15 yard sad noises
Game 17: You know, this was the game where I knew how good JJ was… It should tell you a lot when you do the math and realize He only needs 229 yards against the Bears to hit 2,000! and people are actually thinking ”... .well, it IS Justin Freakin’ Jefferson, and it IS da 2023 Bears…” Alas, it was not meant to be & this completes the most milquetoast 1,800 yard receiving season I’ve seen the media cover.
Playoffs against the Giants: I’m contractually bound by these stupid list rules to mention this game.
“Justin had 47 yards receiving on 7 receptions and 9 targets none of which came on the last play of the game.”
exhales
There. Happy?
Final statline: 13-4 record.
184 targets, 128 receptions, 1809 receiving yards, 8 receiving TDs, a rushing TD and 24 rushing yards.
It was the 6th most receiving yards in a season.
Legacy
Let’s get down to business, to deplete, our funds…
Mulan was a woman disguising as a man for battle, Our logo is a man disguising as a woman for battle, and Justin Jefferson is a GOD disguising as an absolute DOG for battle.
The two main things he can improve on are scoring TDs to finish these plays/drives….and playoff success. Justin staying healthy for the foreseeable future puts him on a trajectory unlike any other. The fact that I can still say he is ahead of many of Jerry Rice’s career stats is incredible. I’ll enjoy it while I can, and you should too. We never know how long someone can be at the top of their game, but JJ is in a prime that would rival many of the best three year stretches in NFL history… and he’s doing it to start his career. (He is a full year younger than Jaden Smith, son of that G.I. Jane actress). JJ is so far ahead in “receiving yards in players first X seasons” that if he has 1,960 or more yards this year, he will officially be an entire season ahead of all receivers in NFL history. He only needs 688 to have the most in the first 4 seasons. He already has held the first three seasons.
I hear his latest future contract perk is just annexing Lake Minnetonka and the surrounding land into his portfolio.
JJ before turning 23 years 328 days old:
324 rec
4,825 yds
25 TDs
Rice before turning 23 years 328 days old:
49 rec
927 yds
3 TDs
I rest my case.
#2 - Nick Bosa - San Francisco 49ers - EDGE Rusher
Previous Ranks
| 2021 | 2020 | 2019 |
|---|---|---|
| 14 | N/A | 47 |
Key Stat:
Bosa leads the league in pressure rate since his rookie season in 2019
Written by: u/scmsf49
Nick Bosa entered the league with some of the highest expectations imaginable. Before he took a snap, the expectation was that he would be better than his brother, who had already established himself as an elite pass rusher. The league knew way before Bosa’s final season at Ohio State, in which he barely played before getting injured and electing to focus on the draft, that he was going high, probably #1. The 49ers didn’t figure to be in that mix, but an early season injury to Jimmy Garoppolo and some strength of schedule luck sent the 49ers to the #2 slot in the draft and one shocking segment of events involving the #1 pick later, Bosa was there for the pickings. San Francisco went 13-3 in Bosa’s rookie season, with the defense jumping from 28th to 8th and Bosa collecting his first award, defensive rookie of the year. His sophomore season was taken from him by turf, but he made it clear immediately in year three that there were no lingering effects from that ACL injury. Following a 15.5 sack season in 2021 that saw him inexplicably snubbed for all pro honors, Bosa made it absolutely impossible to deny him again, leading the league in sacks, QB hits (the top 3 players last season had 48, 36, and 29), and pressures (T-1), winning Defensive Player of the Year with 46 of 50 votes and finishing 6th in MVP voting. Those pre-draft expectations have been met or exceeded, and now there are new expectations. Now, Bosa is expected to maintain this level of play and live up to an imminent contract that will almost certainly make him the highest paid defender in NFL history.
Nick Bosa was the best pass rusher in the league this year, but an overlooked part of his game is his sure tackling and incredible run defense. He missed 0 tackles on run plays this season (and only 2 on passes per PFF or 1 per PFR). He has PFF’s highest tackle grade among edge rushers and third highest run defense grade. This is the section where you’d talk about something he can still improve on, but there really isn’t a weak aspect to Bosa’s game currently (one could argue penalties but the validity of some of those roughing calls is a separate discussion). Bosa may have future seasons with more sacks than this, and he certainly hopes so as he’s openly shooting for the team record he narrowly missed this season and probably privately shooting for the league record, but it’s difficult to foresee him with a season that feels ‘better’ than this one. The chase is over, now he aims to protect the crown.
One of the more aesthetically pleasing weapons in Nick Bosa’s arsenal is his stunt/hesitation.
Two standout examples of this came against the Rams and against the Dolphins. These are the sort of sacks where opposing fans are furiously asking how you forget to block Nick Bosa, but Nick is doing work here to get himself to the QB. This is something he’ll likely be able to do even more going forward as he’s doubled teamed less following the offseason additions of Javon Hargrave and a more aggressive play caller in Steve Wilks. One of the few highlights from the early season game against the champs was Bosa running straight through the right tackle to sack the MVP. As an equal opportunist, here’s him doing that again against a left tackle to sack Geno Smith.
San Francisco wasn’t involved in many one possession games this season, but there were still a few late game opportunities for Bosa to step up in the clutch. His most timely plays this season came against the Saints on 4th and goal to effectively end the game, and against the Dolphins, with a strip sack resulting in a Dre Greenlaw touchdown to put the game completely out of reach with 2 minutes left.
Looking ahead to the 2023 season, the 49ers are fielding the best defensive line since their Super Bowl appearance with the potential to be better if a few things go right. Nick Bosa and longest tenured 49er Arik Armstead return to the unit, while massive (in both stature and impact) acquisition Javon Hargrave enters the fold along with the essentially redshirted 2022 2nd rounder Drake Jackson. A number of depth players return along with an interesting addition in Clelin Ferrell, who hopes to be the next defensive lineman to parlay a strong season in San Francisco into a payday elsewhere. Health permitting, Bosa will again contend for DPOY, as he should for the foreseeable future, but anyone on the team will tell you that individual success and awards pale in comparison to the pursuit of a championship. This group has gotten close in 3 of the last 4 seasons, and the clock is ticking for various players (though not Bosa, he’s 25), whether due to age or future cap constraints. The time to win is now and that hinges on superstars like Nick Bosa playing at this level.
#1 - Patrick Mahomes - Kansas City Chiefs - Quarterback
Previous Ranks
| 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 28 | 3 | 7 | 2 | N/A |
Key Stat:
Joins Joe Montana and Tom Brady as the only players with multiple MVPs and multiple Super Bowl MVPs
Written by: u/TheUltimate721
Introduction:
Chances are you knew he was going to be here before we even started this thing, and here he is. Patrick Mahomes takes the top spot on our list.
Back before he was the face of Football, Patrick Mahomes declared for the 2017 NFL draft after an impressive 2016 campaign with the Texas Tech Red Raiders, leading the country with 5052 yards passing and scoring 41 touchdowns to 10 interceptions. His arm talent and off platform throws dazzled scouts, but media analysts questioned his NFL readiness coming out of an air raid system, and simply despised his footwork. He was projected by most media analysts as a day 2 pick, perhaps a late first rounder if teams were high on him.
Very few people predicted that the notoriously conservative Chiefs organization, whose last first round QB was in 1983 (Back when Tom Cruise was a devout catholic, Return of the Jedi "ended" the Star Wars saga, and a faulty missile detection system in the USSR nearly caused armageddon), would trade up 17 spots in the first round to pick the gunslinger from Tyler, Texas. The trade was heavily scrutinized by the media, with personalities questioning why you would trade multiple first round picks for a developmental player, as well as complaining about his 13-19 record as a starter in college (As if that was his fault and not the fault of Tech's nonexistent defense). But Chiefs Kingdom was generally pretty excited, since KU/K-State fans here are no strangers to Big 12 Football and knew that Mahomes was a ball of talent, and with a playoff caliber roster already, the future of the Chiefs looked pretty exciting.
You know the rest, he sat for a year underneath veteran QB Alex Smith before taking the reins in 2018, exploding onto the scene with 5097 yards passing and 50 touchdowns a first team all pro and MVP. He broke a curse of nearly 25 years without a home playoff win for the Chiefs franchise, and brought the team to its first AFC Championship since 1994, the next year overcoming double digit leads in every single playoff game in 2019 en route to Kansas City's first Superbowl in 50 years, but despite having the franchise's best record in team history in 2020, they failed to run it back as Tom Brady continued to haunt our dreams.
2021 was a "down-year" for him as he threw for 37 touchdowns and 4800 yards, but what people remember more was that the Chiefs were upstaged by the Bengals in the regular season, and yet again in the AFC Championship, leading some to wonder whether the Chiefs time in the limelight was over. Only adding to the doubt coming into the 2022 season was the trade of Tyreek Hill. Hill is a top ten player in his own right, and it was only natural to think that the Chiefs might struggle without one of their top weapons. But Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid had other plans...
The 2022 Season:
Mahomes took this doubt rather personally, and responded by decimating the Arizona Cardinals, going 30-39 for 360 yards and 5 touchdowns in Week 1. Losing the best deep threat in the league had its impact on the Chiefs, as they threw less deep balls than ever before, but that's not to say that the Chiefs didn't have a deep passing game, far from it (I mean how the heck do you throw with that much strength and accuracy with just a flick of your wrist), the emphasis of the offense just turned away from the deep passing game and instead to shorter throws outside the numbers. Less of a "Go for the kill-shot" approach and more of a "Death by a thousand cuts" approach. Oh and by the way he's still making dazzling throws from off-platform. Losing Hill forced Mahomes to become a much more efficient distributor of the football, and if you want to get an idea of just how dominant he is just head over to the r/TopRightMahomes subreddit and get a look at every single category he leads the league in, spoiler alert there's a lot.
I think Patrick probably found it very cathartic carving up Todd Bowles defense and adding another 3 touchdowns to his total including this play that makes you go "That's just ridiculous." The next week against the Raiders he found himself struggling against the Raiders front 4 down 17-0, but Maxx Crosby woke up the wrong motherf---er and Patrick connected with Travis Kelce for four touchdowns to get the comeback win.
After a narrow loss against the Bills at home, struggles were predicted against San Francisco, who held the #1 ranked defense, but after spotting them a 10 point lead, Mahomes and the Chiefs offense came to life, and simply dismantled the 49ers defense. Patrick had the highest EPA/Play against a #1 ranked defense since EPA started being recorded.
Down 4 with 1:43 left in the game at Chargers, we've seen this movie before. Did anyone seriously doubt that Patrick Mahomes was going to lead his guys down the field for a score? At this point we're just expecting stuff like this to happen.
Patrick put it all on the line against the Bengals, but an unfortunate fumble cost them late. To recover, he decided to dismantle the Broncos offense with plays like this and this before gifting Denver 3 picks, just gifting them hope so he can tear their hearts out yet again. He may not have lit up the scoreboard in the Christmas Eve game against the Seahawks, but he made a series of great plays to secure the win. They finished off the season by literally running circles around the Raiders, securing the 14th win of the season and the #1 seed in the AFC.
All in all Patrick Mahomes led the NFL in touchdowns with 41, passing yards with 5250, finished #2 in passer rating. For his efforts he was awarded with another first team all-pro, and also came in with the top spot on our list. All well deserved.
LEGACY:
Year 5 is in the books for Patrick Mahomes now, and it's not a stretch to say he's had the best first five years of anyone in NFL history. The only other player with an argument is the GOAT himself, Tom Brady, but Tom had 3 Superbowls and no league MVPs, while Patrick had 2 Superbowls and 2 league MVPs.
It's unheard of to cement yourself as a future Hall of Famer this early in your career, but Patrick is doing exactly that. He's joined an exclusive club of guys who've won multiple league MVPs and Super Bowl MVPs, the other two members being Tom Brady and Joe Montana. He's overtaken Aaron Rodgers for the career passer rating record, and he could break Lenny The Cool's Chiefs career records to become the Chiefs all time leader in passing yards and touchdowns just next year.
Whenever he does decide to hang it up, he's going to be discussed as one of the best to ever do it, one of those QBs they write children's books about like Tom, Joe Montana, John Elway, Dan Marino. And after decades of mediocre-to-bad QB play those of us in Chiefs Kingdom could not be more grateful, and by god have we been blessed with a guy who has the potential to go down as one of the best to ever do it.
All-in-all, every time Patrick Mahomes steps on to the field, you're going to be entertained. Whether it's the dazzling highlights, the spectacular comebacks, the trash talk, whatever it is... he's become the face of the sport, and someone that's being recognized on an international level. And I, for one, am going to enjoy it for as long as it lasts.
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