NFL defensive coach diagnoses Patrick Mahomes' only flaw: 'Maybe he has to adapt a little bit'

Patrick Mahomes is a special quarterback. At just 26 years old he already has a Super Bowl win under his belt with the Kansas City Chiefs and an MVP award to his name.

Outside of Aaron Rodgers, who was ranked higher than Mahomes in The Athletic's 2022 quarterback tier rankings, there's nobody as magical with the ball in their hands as Mahomes. Rodgers has been doing it for longer and is still tearing it up, coming off his second-straight MVP and fourth overall, but there's a case to be made that Mahomes is just as talented of a quarterback and just as fun to watch — if not more.

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He has a cannon for an arm, can scramble with the best of them and can score in a heartbeat. The Kansas City Chiefs are a threat to score from anywhere on the field as long as Mahomes is on the field. They can also overcome any deficit. Just ask the Houston Texans.

Is there anything Mahomes can't do, though? 

Though in Tier 1, he was ranked behind Rodgers for a reason. Keep in mind this was a mix of NFL coaches and executives helping The Atheltic make these rankings based on a voting system.

“We love Mahomes because of his unorthodox throws, not because of his natural pocket presence,” this voter said. “And when that disappears, that is when they lose games. I don’t think that is a 1. I think that is a 2. Nothing against the guy. I love the kid. But take his first read away and what does he do? He runs, he scrambles and he plays streetball.”

Another voter, an anonymous defensive coordinator, seemed to echo the thoughts above.

“If Mahomes has a quote-unquote flaw, I do not think he is the greatest at diagnosing, but he is so extremely talented with his arm, his release and the way that they run their offense, it is just pick your best matchup and go work that," the defensive play-caller said. "If you’re a matchup-oriented team and you lose one of your top matchup guys like that, it is going to affect how you play. Maybe he has to adapt a little bit, but I think he has all the makeup to do it.”