Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes loses top spot for first time in annual NFL coaches, GMs, execs poll

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes will enter the new season with more questions surrounding him than at any other point in his career, but that does not mean the expectations have disappeared.

Mahomes is coming off a knee injury, which practically doomed the Chiefs last year. They missed the playoffs for the first time since 2014, finishing with a 6-11 record. Their nine-year streak of topping the AFC West also ended.

The 30-year-old Mahomes will be challenged to prove that he can return to his dominant form. For the first time, he lost his spot as the best signal-caller in the annual poll of Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer, with Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen being voted No. 1.

“We received 104 ballots. All 32 teams had voters in this poll,” noted Breer. “Among the voters—GMs (general managers), personnel executives, head coaches, offensive and pass-game coordinators, and quarterbacks coaches—we received ballots from 20 head coaches and 21 general managers.”

Mahomes was ranked No. 3, a place below Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford. Mahomes received 12 first-place votes in the yearly poll, which Breer started in 2015.

“I figured he’d fall a little bit, but I didn’t anticipate that he’d be left off 18 ballots. But Allen was already gaining on him after Mahomes won over 90% of the first-place votes in 2020, 2o22, 2023, and 2024. Those who’ve stuck to their guns on him this year point to the expected improvement of the run game, with Kenneth Walker III aboard,” wrote Breer.

For comparison, Allen received 49 first-place votes, with Breer describing him as the “most feared player in football.”

Yet it is foolish to bet against Mahomes, and all signs point to a bounce-back campaign for the three-time Super Bowl MVP.

In 14 games last season, he threw for 3,587 yards, 22 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions. He rushed for career-highs of 44 yards and five touchdowns.

Rounding out the top five of Breer’s annual poll were Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow and Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson.

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