All things considered, Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes is likely coming off the most impressive season of his entire career. The NFL took that into account, as the 27-year-old superstar is back in the top 10 of the annual Top 100 Players list yet again. Not only is he slotted in the top 10 for another year, but Mahomes is taking a climb from his No. 8 ranking ahead of the 2022 campaign.
In the 2023 edition of the list, Mahomes finds himself in the top spot for the second time in five years. His peers voted him in as the highest-ranked player in all of football, also giving Kansas City three top 10 players on the list.
Despite losing his leading receiver from the previous season, Mahomes turned in a campaign for the ages in 2022-23. He led the league in passing yards (5,250), touchdowns (41) and QBR (77.6) while also posting the best completion percentage of his career (67.1) and accounting for more total yards than anyone in a single season in NFL history. For his efforts, Mahomes won league MVP for the second time in his career and he was also named to his fifth Pro Bowl. Additionally, he was a first-team All-Pro on the heels of a 14-3 regular-season record.
Mahomes was terrific in the postseason and helped Kansas City win another championship, and he did so while battling a high-ankle sprain suffered in the Divisional Round against the Jacksonville Jaguars. In three playoff games back in January and February, Mahomes completed 72 of 100 passes for 703 yards with seven touchdowns and no interceptions. In those contests, he took a playoff career-low three sacks and posted a sparkling 114.7 passer rating in the process.
With wide receivers JuJu Smith-Schuster and Mecole Hardman having left town via free agency, Mahomes is tasked with relying on unproven players such as Kadarius Toney, Skyy Moore and others this coming season. If there’s one thing he taught the football world last year, though, it’s that he’s capable of elevating just about any group — even in the face of opposing defenses constantly working to take away the Chiefs’ iconic explosive plays through the air.
