A former NFL general manager had some high praise for Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes recently.
Mike Tannenbaum was a front office executive in the NFL from 1997-2018. He was the GM with the Jets for six years from 2006-12. Most recently he’s taken on the role of ESPN analyst on both their television and radio broadcasts.
On ESPN, Tannenbaum and company tried to figure out the best offensive player in the NFL, but the conversation evolved and the former GM kicked things up a notch. To Tannenbaum, Mahomes isn’t just the best offensive player in the NFL. He’s the player with the best production and best value of any professional athlete in major sports. Check out it out:
Tannenbaum seems like he’s onto something here. It takes Mahomes’ MVP title to an entirely different level.
“Starting with on the field, I agree with what Victor (Cruz) said. The mark of a great player is does he make the players around him better,” Tannenbaum said. “He shored a lot of things for (the Chiefs), offensive line questions, some skill players that were in and out last year. He made everybody around him better. When you look at his cap number, It’s 4.5 this year, 5.2 next year. And his 50 touchdowns and his age. I would say in all four major sports, who else would you rather have — player and contract — than Patrick Mahomes right now on his rookie deal? He is by far, in my opinion, the best player and the best value of any of the sports in our country right now because of his production and his price.”
There’s a lot to unpack here, but let’s start with that first bit about making players around him better. A lot of Mahomes detractors out there will point to the supporting cast in Kansas City as a reason for Mahomes’ 2018 success, but that should draw a finger wag from anyone who followed the team closely.
By midseason the Chiefs had lost two starters along the offensive line, in Mitch Morse and Laurent Duvernay-Tardif. They lost a key depth piece in Jordan Devey. By Week 12 Kareem Hunt was released and Sammy Watkins was injured. Spencer Ware eventually went down with injury. Tyreek Hill got injured during the final stretch. Don’t forget that he had to drag the 31st ranked defense kicking and screaming, all the way to the AFC championship game.
Mahomes didn’t have it easy with his supporting cast and he absolutely managed to make those around him better. Even when he had all of his weapons available, he elevated their game and made them better. That’s absolutely the mark of a great player, especially at the quarterback position.
As for the money situation. Mahomes is cheap now, but things won’t stay that way for long. In the moment, there are few players across all sports that offer their teams more at such a minimal cost financially. Arguments could probably be made for a a few players, but Mahomes definitely is leading the conversation after his 2018 season.
