Patrick Mahomes has three Super Bowl MVPs in the last five years, so it’s unlikely he needs anyone’s approval to know he’s the NFL’s best quarterback.
Good thing he has it anyway.
The Kansas City Chiefs star was overwhelmingly chosen by league executives, coaches and scouts as the NFL’s top signal-caller. All but one of the nearly 80 people approached by ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler voted for Mahomes, with Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen landing the only other first-place nod.
Here is a look at how the entire top 10 played out:
- Patrick Mahomes (Kansas City Chiefs)
- Joe Burrow (Cincinnati Bengals)
- Josh Allen (Buffalo Bills)
- Lamar Jackson (Baltimore Ravens)
- Matthew Stafford (Los Angeles Rams)
- Justin Herbert (Los Angeles Chargers)
- C.J. Stroud (Houston Texans)
- Aaron Rodgers (New York Jets)
- Jared Goff (Detroit Lions)
- Dak Prescott (Dallas Cowboys)
It’s hard to argue anyone but Mahomes deserves the first-place nod. He’s established himself as one of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history by age 28, winning in a variety of ways and learning how to grow as the league adjusts defenses to stop him.
After entering the NFL as a gunslinger who broke defenses with downfield passes, Mahomes played the most cerebral football of his career in 2023 with the Chiefs’ receiving corps struggling to perform. He moved the ball down the field via a series of underneath and intermediate passes, finishing with 4,183 yards and 27 touchdowns against 14 interceptions.
“When it’s late in a meaningful game and Mahomes is playing, you just know he’s going to find a way to win,” an NFC executive said. “That’s the stage he’s at that a lot of the greats get to—they figure out how to win the game and get it done. The game’s slowed down for him in that way.”
Burrow is a bit of a surprising choice at No. 2 given he spent much of last season on the shelf. The Bengals star was limited to 10 games due to a torn ligament in his right wrist, and a calf strain cost him nearly all of training camp and left him limited early in the season. Burrow threw for 2,903 yards and 15 touchdowns against six interceptions in his 10 starts.
One AFC scout expressed concern regarding Burrow’s injury history and the fact the team lost running back Joe Mixon in the offseason and is dealing with a disgruntled Tee Higgins. However, another executive described him as the “most consistent” quarterback in the NFL.
“Burrow is still probably the most consistent of all the guys,” the exec said. “A pure thrower who’s in complete command of the offense and comes up big in big moments. He knows when to attack and be aggressive vs. when to take the easy yards. And the dude is so tough.”
Allen’s physical talents are unmatched, but his consistency often leaves evaluators wanting. He finished second in the NFL last season with 18 interceptions, and his job will not get any easier in 2024 after the Bills traded Stefon Diggs to the Houston Texans.
One NFL executive called Allen “one of the more overrated players in the NFL” because of his turnover propensity.
Meanwhile, reigning NFL MVP Lamar Jackson comes in at fourth place after the second-best passing season of his career. Jackson threw for 3,678 yards and 24 touchdowns against six interceptions while posting a passer rating above 100 for the second time in his career. Some executives believe the improvements in the pocket will help Jackson prolong prime.
“He was better than the numbers say as a pocket passer,” an AFC executive said. “Really efficient. May not have had crazy production but always made a lot of plays. Watching it, you feel the impact. Definitely more accurate.”
