Most people consider Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes to be the best player in the NFL, not to mention an all-time great in the making. He has two regular-season MVP awards and two Super Bowl championships to his name already at age 27, and he makes a living beating teams in third-down situations with his unique passing abilities.
However, he has fallen precipitously in one statistic, highlighted by NFL analyst Warren Sharp. After averaging 17.3 air yards on each touchdown pass in 2019, the season in which he won his first world title, he only mustered 4.5 air yards per touchdown pass last season. In addition, out of the 41 touchdown passes Mahomes completed in 2022, only one traveled more than 19 yards.
truly wild stat
average length of Patrick Mahomes TD passes:
2019: 17.3 air yards
2020: 13.0 air yards
2021: 8.5 air yards
2022: 4.5 air yardslast year Mahomes threw 41 touchdowns
only ONE (1) traveled more than 19 yards
— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) July 4, 2023
While some may want to criticize him for this development, it shows how effective and dominant he is in multiple ways. Perhaps one thing those numbers could be attributed to is the departure of speedster wide receiver Tyreek Hill last offseason. Hill is perhaps the biggest deep threat in the league, and without him, Kansas City had to make some adjustments offensively.
The fact they won it all without such a big talent like Hill is a testament to Mahomes’ abilities, as well as the coaching acumen of Andy Reid. In 2023, the Chiefs will face another personnel challenge on offense, as JuJu Smith-Schuster, their most productive wide receiver last season, has left to join the New England Patriots. They will have to replace the 933 receiving yards he gave them if they are to have a real shot at their third Super Bowl ring in five seasons.
