Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, 25, is only entering his fifth NFL season.
It feels as though he has been in the NFL much longer given all that he has accomplished in such a short time.
MAHOMES MAGIC.@Chiefs take the lead with 34 seconds left! #ChiefsKingdom
📺: #KCvsLV on NBC
📱: NFL app // Yahoo Sports app: https://t.co/O0IlFC03uf pic.twitter.com/KkqcwyEIJs— NFL (@NFL) November 23, 2020
The 2018 NFL MVP and 2020 Super Bowl MVP and member of the winning Chiefs team is a great player, but even the great players can find ways to improve especially in their youth.
Here are two possible ways that Mahomes can improve from the 2020 to 2021 season.
1. Touchdown Passes
Since his NFL MVP season where he threw 50 touchdown passes in 2018, Mahomes’ productivity in this area has diminished.
In 2019, he had 26 touchdown passes and improved that stat to 38 in 2020.
Mahomes added four more touchdown passes during the 2020 playoffs.
Travis Kelce completely fools Joseph on this 20 yard touchdown pass from Patrick Mahomes. #RunItBack #CLEvsKC
— Lukas Weese (@Weesesports) January 17, 2021
However, for the Chiefs to get back to total dominance, Mahomes needs to throw more touchdown passes.
50 is attainable especially with an extra regular season game this year.
Mahomes has 17 games versus the 16 games in previous years.
A deeper dive into the statistics in the 2018 season shows that the Chiefs had more rushing yards that season than in 2019 and 2020.
This means that the Chiefs, like most NFL teams, cannot live on the passing game alone.
A good running game (led in 2018 by Kareem Hunt) opens the door and buys time for Mahomes to set up the passing plays.
This means one of the keys to Mahomes throwing more touchdown passes will be the establishment of the running game.
In fairness, running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire had a good season in 2020 but battled injuries that caused him to miss a few games.
2. Sacks
.@Lastname_Baker's MOMMA GOING NUTS!
📺 @NFLonCBS pic.twitter.com/OUjQjmLx8V
— Miami Dolphins (@MiamiDolphins) December 13, 2020
No one thinks about the sacks a running quarterback takes, but Mahomes took his share in 2020.
He had 22 during the regular season and four more in the playoffs.
In 2019, he had 17 sacks in the regular season and six in the postseason.
Though that is not a significant change, mobile quarterbacks should be taking fewer sacks as they get older.
Mahomes did have injuries in 2020; one of which required offseason surgery (turf toe).
There are plenty of reasons a quarterback gets sacked, and only some of them have to do with the quarterback himself.
Those reasons include trying to do too much with the ball and holding on to the ball too long.
Another part of it involves the offensive line and its ability to protect Mahomes.
As long as the Kansas City #Chiefs have QB Patrick Mahomes, they are always going to be a contender favorite.
On top of that, KC addressed their needs this off-season too – with the rebuild of the offensive line.#NFL | #NFLTalk
— NFL Talk (@NFL_Talk_Sports) May 7, 2021
The Chiefs have done a lot of work in the offseason to upgrade that offensive line with the express purpose of keeping Mahomes upright in 2021.
Patrick Mahomes is a hard worker and a consummate professional, and he has the unwavering support of his head coach Andy Reid.
Here is what Reid said about Mahomes last November, as shared on SI.com:
“I’d take him over everybody, and I’m lucky to have him, as we are as a team, as we are as a city…When you’re behind, he can make things happen, and he sees. He’s got great vision in things around him.”
Watching the Chiefs rebound from their Super Bowl defeat is one of the many interesting storylines in the NFL during the 2021 season.
NEXT: Is Patrick Mahomes The Runaway MVP Favorite In 2021?
