Arrowheadlines: Mahomes contract talks set to start this summer

The latest

Chiefs CEO: Mahomes extension talks to begin this summer | NFL.com

“The negotiations are something we’ll be getting into this summer,” Hunt said, per the station’s website. “But what he has said and what we’ve said, both sides is, he wants to be a Kansas City Chief for life, and that’s our mentality as well. We want him to play his entire career in Kansas City, and that’s what we’re going to be shooting for.”

Fourth-and-15 alternative draws attention of Patrick Mahomes | NFL.com

Mahomes, the author of two memorable, game-changing plays in the last two seasons, has proven his arm and at least one key target are capable of erasing unlikely down-and-distance scenarios. The first came in a regular-season thriller against Baltimore in 2018, in which Mahomes rolled right on fourth-and-9, threw across his body to Tyreek Hill and completed an unlikely pass to set the Chiefs up for the game-tying score. The other, more notable swing of yardage and momentum: Jet Chip Wasp, the play called on third-and-15 in Super Bowl LIV that led to a huge gain for the Chiefs and helped jumpstart their comeback to a victory over the San Francisco 49ers.

Top 25 NFL players under 25: Patrick Mahomes takes top spot, Saints lead all teams with three stars | CBS Sports

1. Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes (24)

Let’s put his greatness into perspective. Including the playoffs, he owns a win-loss record of 28-8 as a starting quarterback, good enough for a winning percentage of 0.78. For the sake of comparison, Tom Brady’s winning percentage (including the playoffs) is 0.77. Over the past two seasons, even though he’s missed two full games in that span, he ranks first in touchdown passes — 10 more than Russell Wilson in second place. Even though his touchdown rate predictably plummeted in 2019 from 8.6 percent to 5.4 percent due to the unstoppable force of nature known as regression, what’s notable about his 2019 season is that he cut his interception rate in half (2.1 percent to 1.0 percent).

NFL Hot or Not: Chiefs, Broncos sizzle; Dwayne Haskins icy | NFL.com

WHAT’S HOT

Can the Chiefs grow even more impossible to neutralize? Why not? They return 11 starters on offense while adding a backfield weapon in Clyde Edwards-Helaire who draws comparisons to both a young Devonta Freeman and ex-Eagles star Brian Westbrook — but is “better than Brian,” per coach Andy Reid. The mind wanders to uncharted gridiron dreamscapes when pondering what Reid accomplished with Westbrook, who averaged 995 yards on the ground, 75 catches and nearly 700 yards receiving per season from 2004 through 2007. Those Philly offenses were stout, but imagine Edwards-Helaire dipped into a Kansas City attack led by Patrick Mahomes. The Chiefs already boasted a back in Damien Williams who was arguably robbed of MVP honors in February’s Super Bowl.

Chiefs will be playing for the ‘ugliest trophy in all of sports’ in the preseason | Kansas City Star

One question was about the Hunt family’s relationship with Cowboys owner Jerry Jones. Clark Hunt said his dad, Chiefs founder Lamar Hunt, and Jones have a long history. Apparently Lamar Hunt, who died in 2006, made a trophy in the late 1990s to be awarded when their franchises played.

It’s called the Preston Road Trophy.

“The favorite thing we do with the Jones family is whenever the Chiefs and Cowboys play each other we’re playing for the all-important Preston Road Trophy,” Clark Hunt said. “This was a trophy that our dad came up with because they lived across the street from each other on Preston Road. And he thought it would be fun to have a trophy, and it’s the ugliest trophy in all of sports. And least expensive.

How close is the Broncos’ roster to the Chiefs? | Mile High Report (Denver Broncos SB Nation site)

Denver’s back seven against the Kansas City skill positions

Like the rest of the NFL, the Broncos are facing a rather glaring speed mismatch across the board here. Tyreek Hill, Mecole Hardman, and Sammy Watkins are the fastest trio of wide receivers in football, and pair that athleticism with underrated hands and route running. You could make a decent argument that none are the true alpha in the receiving corps though, because the Chiefs’ best all-around threat is Travis Kelce. To that group comes LSU’s Clyde Edwards-Helaire, who looked like the best running back in the 2020 NFL Draft and a dangerous receiver with the kind of phone booth quickness to make SEC defenders look stupid.

Advantage: KC by a mile.

Kansas City Chiefs: Is Tyreek Hill the best wide receiver in the NFL? | NFL Mocks

While firing up a few Chiefs games from last season and specifically watching these elite offensive players, Tyreek Hill is the guy who consistently popped off of the screen. Watching Hill closer got me thinking, is he the best wide receiver in the entire NFL?

With his incredible combination of raw speed and quickness at the wide receiver position, everybody knows how great Hill is in the Kansas City Chiefs offense. However, I am not sure that he is getting the kind of praise that he deserves for his on-field ability.

Michael Thomas puts up the best numbers and Julio Jones is probably the biggest physical freak at the position, but nobody demands the same kind of consistent attention from the defense as Hill and he can still dominate the game at any time.

Around the NFL

Spring Football Made the NFL Cool Again | SI

And now, ahead of the latest round of league meetings, an alternative to the onside kick is gaining steam, according to an NFL.com report. The rule, proposed by the Philadelphia Eagles as an amendment to Rule 6, Article 1, Section 1, would “allow a team who is trailing in the game an opportunity to maintain possession of the ball after scoring” by going for it on fourth-and-15 from their own 25-yard line. They could attempt this twice in a game. ~

Rams’ Aaron Donald: ‘Wouldn’t be fun’ to play NFL games without fans | ESPN

“You need fans to play a game,” Donald said Thursday on a video conference with reporters. “I don’t see how you could play a game without no fans. I feel like that takes out the excitement and the fun out of the game ...

Which NFL head coach has best chance to win first Super Bowl? | NFL.com

So, which head coach has the best chance to win his first Super Bowl in the upcoming season?

STEVE MARIUCCI: The football world finally saw what the San Francisco 49ers were capable of under Kyle Shanahan in the 2019 campaign. They were one of the best teams over the entire course of the season ... but were unable to finish the job in February, when they suffered a Super Bowl loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. That one will sting for a while. But I expect this team, which is full of talent after GM John Lynch executed another good offseason, to be as hungry as any this fall. The 49ers are still the team to beat in the NFC. Shanahan will get another chance soon.

Patriots owner Robert Kraft’s Super Bowl LI ring garners $1.025M winning bid in All In Challenge | ESPN

Bidding for New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft’s Super Bowl LI championship ring closed at $1.025 million Thursday night, making it one of the most expensive items in the All In Challenge, which aims to be the largest virtual fundraiser in history. Its mission is to feed those in need.

In addition to the ring, the winner receives a personal visit with Kraft at his Gillette Stadium office in Foxborough, Massachusetts. The team will send its private plane for transportation if needed.

In case you missed it at Arrowhead Pride

Advanced stats make compelling Hall of Fame case for Jamaal Charles

This is certainly a crude analysis, because we’re taking a play-level stat (EPA) and assigning the play outcome all to one player (the rusher). We know this isn’t good enough to evaluate the performance of a running back, because the offensive line and passing game have a great influence on how well a running back performs. But with the exception of two years Brian Waters was on the team, Charles’ offensive lines were nothing to write home about — and the Chiefs’ passing game was often more a curse than a gift.

So while we haven’t yet figured out a way to perfectly evaluate running backs with advanced data (tracking data could go a long way here), our best guess should be that this more comprehensive evaluation would only help Charles’ case for the Hall of Fame.

To me, Charles deserves Hall of Fame recognition. Will he get it? Maybe. Maybe not. But I hope this analysis gives you comfort that if you (like me) feel he deserves it, you aren’t crazy.

A tweet to make you think

Follow Arrowhead Pride on Social Media

Facebook Page: Click here to like our page

AP Instagram: Follow @ArrowheadPride

AP Twitter: Follow @ArrowheadPride

AP Editor-in-Chief: Pete Sweeney: Follow @pgsween

610 Sports Twitter: Follow @610SportsKC