Patrick Mahomes’ first six years are practically unparalleled. How nice might he be?

Patrick Mahomes is already on his technique to greatness, simply six years into his NFL profession. And in fact, he is solely been a starter for 5 of these years.

Are you prepared for some statistics to contextualize his early success? Here we go.

Regarding Super Bowl appearances, Mahomes and Tom Brady are the one quarterbacks to achieve three Super Bowls within the first six years of their profession. Mahomes can be the one quarterback for the reason that merger to make 5 championship sport appearances in his first six years, forward of Donovan McNabb (4), Brady (3), Joe Montana (3) and Roger Staubach (3).

Even together with his first season spent as a backup, Mahomes has the second-most passing yards (24,241) in his first six seasons by a quarterback in NFL historical past. He’s behind Peyton Manning (24,885) and forward of Dan Marino (23,856). Mahomes ranks second in passing touchdowns after six seasons, behind Marino (196) and forward of Manning (167). 

For quarterbacks who’ve at the least 15,000 passing yards of their first six seasons, Mahomes can be third in completion share (66.3) behind Deshaun Watson (67%) and Dak Prescott (66.%), which is usually a testomony to the altering panorama of the NFL. But it is also necessary contemplating Mahomes is taken into account a gunslinger and an innovator — and but he is correct to an unprecedented diploma.

When it involves statistics and milestones, Mahomes retains good firm: Brady, Manning, Marino, McNabb and Montana.

“What he’s done so far, a lot of guys can do that. He’s done it in five years, and some guys can’t do it in 20,” Chiefs receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling instructed FOX Sports on Monday night time.

The statistics additionally fail to seize one a part of Mahomes’ sport that I’d be remiss to not point out: his jazz-musician knack for improvisation. 

“I like to think of myself as a creative mind,” Mahomes mentioned Monday. “So I like to just be creative out there on the football field.”

He has the propensity to make throws that had been coached out of the NFL for many years. Take the across-your-body throw, for instance. Mahomes made that throw OK for quarterbacks like Josh Allen — and, for higher and for worse, Zach Wilson. And then there have been the throws that solely Brett Favre used: the push cross, the underhanded cross and the left-handed cross. Finally, there have been passes that Mahomes pioneered: the no-look cross and, perhaps sometime, the behind-the-back cross (which Mahomes has drilled at observe).

Mahomes’ numbers make him tangibly nice, and he is on monitor for an all-time profession. But the best way he performs the sport — it would show revolutionary. He is already paving the best way for a brand new type of quarterback play that pushes the boundaries of how we thought the sport ought to be performed. Unless, in fact, nobody can do what Mahomes can do. And that is distinctly doable.

I requested Eagles coach Nick Sirianni if, in the midst of movie research for the Super Bowl, he has seen Mahomes make performs that makes Sirianni suppose: my goodness, this QB is completely different.

“Yeah, about every play he makes. He’s obviously very special — special football player, special playmaker,” Sirianni mentioned Monday. “He does things that you watch and you just kind of shake your head because, because of how special he is. And so we’re gonna have to be on it [and] have everything we got to contain him because we know how good a football player he is.”

Sirianni added: “He’s the best player on the planet.”

But that is intangible — even when it is a widely-held opinion. So let’s return to the tangible statistical comparisons. There’s lots to discover there relating to these first six years of Mahomes within the NFL.

Mahomes shouldn’t be in a league of his personal in each class. Brady, in fact, received all of his first three Super Bowl appearances. Mahomes has one win with the chance to win a second in Super Bowl LVII — he is behind Brady’s tempo there. But in nearly each different class, Mahomes is totally elite, due to his super expertise, the addition of a seventeenth sport and assist from the current alterations to the NFL guidelines to cater towards the offensive passing sport.

At the very least, he’s on his technique to a profession like Manning or Drew Brees.

But there’s additionally motive to consider Mahomes might get into the dialog with quarterbacks like Brady and Montana.

“I think any athlete wants to be the best at their position ever. And I want to be, but I understand how hard it’s gonna be,” Mahomes instructed Nick Wright throughout an look on FS1’s “First Things First” on Thursday. “I know that Tom being in 10 Super Bowls and winning seven of them is something that seems impossible.”

If Mahomes wins on Sunday, it stays doable for him to contend on the very least for Montana’s 4 Super Bowl wins — even when Brady’s seven seem unreachable. But there was a time when 4 appeared unreachable. That’s the character of milestones. Give it sufficient time and somebody pushes the file additional. The query is whether or not Mahomes would be the one to do it.

What is crystal clear: Mahomes’ first six years are, in lots of measurements, among the many greatest we have ever seen by a quarterback. Because whereas Brady’s early Super Bowl wins had been partially a testomony to his clutch performances, the New England Patriots weren’t operating high-flying offenses. In 2001, the yr the Patriots received their first Super Bowl with Brady, New England had the Eleventh-worst passing offense by way of passing yards. By 2004, Brady led the Patriots to the Eleventh greatest passing offense within the NFL throughout the common season.

But that pales compared to Mahomes, whose offense ranked third within the NFL in passing yards in his first season as a starter and fifth in his second season. He additionally received the Super Bowl in that second season. You might argue that Brady succeeded in his early-career due to Bill Belichick and the Patriots protection. And Mahomes excelled at a special stage, even when he could not win as many Super Bowls.

But that will get us again to the unique level: successful the Super Bowl. That’s what Mahomes must do — and preserve doing — if he desires to stay close to the highest of the checklist as one of many biggest ever to play the sport. It’s not sufficient to have an impressive begin to a profession — he has to take care of this stage of excellence.

“[Pat’s] still got some years in him to achieve a lot of different things in order to be to GOAT,” Chiefs defensive lineman Chris Jones instructed reporters Monday night time. “What Tom Brady is doing — he set the standard for a lot of young, younger quarterbacks.”

To rank Mahomes within the prime three can be to undertaking him to succeed statistically for the subsequent six seasons or extra. He’s Eleventh in playoff passing yards (3,902) and eighth in playoff passing touchdowns (32). It’s a matter of tenure — Mahomes remains to be younger.

Already, he is up there with the greats. The subsequent decade will decide simply how nice Mahomes might be.

Prior to becoming a member of FOX Sports because the AFC East reporter, Henry McKenna spent seven years protecting the Patriots for USA TODAY Sports Media Group and Boston Globe Media. Follow him on Twitter at @McKennAnalysis.

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