Is Patrick Mahomes About to Be More Athletic This Season?
Patrick Mahomes had an incredible season last year in his first full season as the Chiefs’ starting quarterback, but he is looking to improve upon his MVP campaign from 2018.
Many people feel that regression is inevitable after the numbers he put up a year ago. However, he’s hoping to avoid that by working on his athleticism. The main way he plans on getting more athletic is by cutting down on his body fat heading into training camp. But with personnel changes in Kansas City, even that might not be enough to repeat the success he had last season.
Patrick Mahomes’ 50-touchdown season
Patrick Mahomes joined rare company last season when he threw 50 touchdowns. This is something that not many quarterbacks have done in a single season.
Perhaps even more impressive, he threw just 12 interceptions in 580 passes. He completed 66 percent of those passes for 5,097 yards as he led the Chiefs to a 12-4 regular-season record. Followed by a deep playoff run that culminated in an overtime loss to the Patriots in the AFC Championship.
All of his stats came out to a league-best 82 QBR on the season. He set a number of NFL records, including:
- The first player to throw for more than 3,000 yards in his first 10 career games
- Most touchdown passes through his first three career games
- Most touchdown passes through his first eight career games
- Youngest quarterback to throw six touchdowns in a game
- Youngest quarterback to throw 50 touchdowns in a season
- Most consecutive games with at least 300 passing yards
- Youngest quarterback to throw for more than 5,000 yards in a season
- Most consecutive games with at least 300 passing yards
- Fastest player to throw at least 4,000 passing yards and 40 touchdowns
Looking to lose weight
Despite the impressive season he had in 2018, Patrick Mahomes is looking to get more athletic this season by losing some of his body fat.
The ketchup-loving quarterback said last month that is he focusing on improving his footwork, and he thinks having less body fat can help him achieve that goal. His body fat was as low as 12 percent last year, but Mahomes is looking to get it down into the single digits before training camp begins.
He says that he has cleaned up what he eats and that he has already seen results from the changes he has made. Mahomes says he has “gotten more muscular” and he has “less body fat,” which is all part of him “sculpting [his] body in the best way possible.”
Mahomes also started his off-season training incredibly early. He was already training in early February. That kind of passion coupled with his natural gifts is a scary combination.
He wants to improve his health so he can feel as fresh at the end of the season as he does at the beginning. Although, this is hard to do with a 16-game NFL season.
Patrick Mahomes’ outlook for 2019
Patrick Mahomes has a lot to live up to if he wants to repeat as the league’s MVP. He will have an uphill battle to come close to having another 50-touchdown season because of uncertainty surrounding the status of star WR Tyreek Hill.
Hill has been suspended from team activities indefinitely because of an ongoing child abuse investigation, which will likely lead to a suspension by the league. Hill caught 12 touchdowns from Mahomes last season, representing nearly a quarter of Mahomes’ total touchdown passes.
Assuming Hill is suspended for the start of the regular season, Mahomes’ top pass-catcher will probably be TE Travis Kelce, with Sammy Watkins his top wide receiver. Also missing from the offense will be RBs Kareem Hunt and Spencer Ware, who are no longer with the team.
Hunt caught seven touchdowns from Mahomes last season, meaning 19 of Mahomes’ 50 touchdowns are unaccounted for with Hunt no longer on the team and Hill facing a potentially lengthy suspension.
