Patrick Mahomes raised some eyebrows early in 2020 when he said during an appearance on HBO’s The Shop that he “didn’t understand how to read defenses until halfway through last year.”
Now he’s gained another season of experience, which has helped him significantly improve in that area.
“I think every single year you’re in the NFL, you learn more and more,” Mahomes said Monday. “You get different looks. Especially with our offense, we get a lot of crazy looks and crazy blitzes and stuff like that. You have to learn how to adjust and learn how to go out there and have successful plays. This year, I felt super comfortable recognizing defenses, recognizing blitzes, recognizing coverages, and being able to get us into the right play and get a successful play going and a completion. It’s definitely something that I’ll continue to grow and continue to learn, but I feel like I’m at a way different level than I even was last year.”
Even before he could fully read defenses, Mahomes led the league with 50 touchdown passes in his first year as a full-time starter, also winning MVP that year.
He completed 66.3 percent of his passes in 2020 for 4,740 yards with 38 touchdowns and just six interceptions. And he’s been even better so far in the postseason, completing 73.5 percent of his throws for 580 yards with four TDs and no picks.