5 years after Patrick Mahomes began starting, coaches still gush over what he can do

On Wednesday, Kansas City Chiefs quarterbacks coach Matt Nagy said that Patrick Mahomes isn’t changing how he approaches things as the team enters the AFC Divisional Round.

“He’s just so locked-in right now,” Nagy said of his quarterback, who is now concluding his fifth year as the team’s starter. “It has not changed, literally, from when I first got here in OTAs. But when I really noticed it was training camp — and then from Day 1, Week 1 until now, he’s not changing.”

On Saturday, Kansas City hosts the AFC South champion Jacksonville Jaguars, hoping to secure its fifth consecutive appearance in a conference title game.

“He’s very, very focused on our opponent,” added Nagy. “He’s very focused on staying within the system and doing what he does best.”

And once again, Mahomes is widely seen as the league’s best. It is likely that Associated Press NFL MVP voters will have Kansas City’s quarterback at the top of their ballots later this month, after Mahomes led the league in passing yards (5,250) and touchdowns (41) for the second time in his career.

No quarterback in league history has accounted for more offense in a single season than Mahomes did in 2022 — which, to Nagy and others on the staff, testifies to his work ethic.

“It never ends with him,” said Nagy. “His mindset is that way — [and] it’s kind of really always been that way.”

Defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo — whose unit is tasked with sharpening Mahomes’ skills in practice — thinks he elevates the whole offense.

“Patrick’s a typical elite player,” said Spagnuolo. “He makes the other 10 guys around him better. You see that all the time. You see it in practice [and] you see it on the field.”

The coordinator also credits Mahomes for the chemistry he has with tight end Travis Kelce — and now, running back Jerick McKinnon and all the new wide receivers brought aboard in 2022.

“You know, what always amazes me about our whole offensive group is how well they know each other,” he marveled. “It’s like Travis knows exactly where Patrick is — what he’s going to do when he scrambles to his right or his left. Obviously, Travis has been the one that’s been here the most — but even [with] Jerick, it just feels like he knows where Pat’s going to be.

“To me, that’s the most amazing thing. How they get that, I’ll never know.”