Along with being the reigning Super Bowl MVP, Patrick Mahomes is the proud owner of another, albeit unofficial title. Mahomes recently said he proudly wears the title as the NFL's new "old guy" quarterback, despite the fact he is still just 28 years old.
While he's still young, Mahomes is right in that he is the new face of football's most essential position, taking the baton from Tom Brady after the seven-time Super Bowl champion retired two years ago. And speaking of other quarterbacks, Mahomes also recently shared the three quarterbacks he enjoys watching most.
"There's a couple," Mahomes said on FS1's "First Things First" this week. "I like watching Josh [Allen] a lot. We play a lot of similar opponents. He plays a similar style of football that I do. So I always watch what the Bills do and try to take some things that he does.
"I like watching C.J. Stroud a lot now, man. He's been out there and he's making plays happen. And then I would say probably Joe [Burrow], just because we play the same teams, so watching him play definitely gives me some ideas of what we can do as an offense.
"But I mean, the thing about the NFL now is there's a lot of great quarterbacks," Mahomes continued. "I'm kind of the old guy now and I have to kind of hold that title as the old guy, but I'll try to continue to do whatever I can to be the best that I can be."
Allen and Burrow shouldn't come as a surprise. Both quarterbacks are also considered to be among the league's best and have been for some time. As Mahomes alluded to, Allen's unique athleticism has helped make him one of the NFL's most dangerous players and has contributed to the Bills becoming one of the AFC's top-tier teams over the past half-decade.
While more of a prototypical quarterback, Burrow has enjoyed similar success to Allen and Mahomes during his time with the Bengals. In fact, Burrow is the only quarterback not named Brady who's beaten Mahomes in the playoffs. Burrow actually has a 3-1 record in matchups against Mahomes dating back to the 2021 season, when the Bengals overcame a 21-3 halftime deficit to stun the Chiefs in the AFC Championship game.
Stroud is part of the new wave of quarterbacks who are starting to create a niche for themselves. Last year's Offensive Rookie of the Year, Stroud set several rookie passing records en route to leading the Texans to a surprising division title. Stroud should be even better this year with Houston's offseason acquisition of perennial Pro Bowl wideout (and Allen's former Bills teammate) Stefon Diggs.
Each of the quarterbacks Mahomes mentioned serve as reminders that, while several legendary signal-callers have retired in recent years, the position is still very much alive and well, with the Chiefs' two-time league MVP leading the way.
