The Kansas City Chiefs are regrouping for the upcoming NFL season, with quarterback Patrick Mahomes at the helm, aiming to enhance their long-range passing game. Last season, Mahomes led the Chiefs’ wide receivers with 59 receptions, but his average of 10.8 yards per catch fell short of the team’s expectations. The Chiefs are setting their sights on the upcoming season with a relentless desire. They’re looking to establish more consistent downfield passing, something they ranked 29th in success rate on last season.
In 2022, Mahomes threw just 47 passes that traveled at least 20 yards down the field. That total was the fourth lowest in the league. The Chiefs were next to last in pass completions that went at least 20 yards beyond the line of scrimmage. Chiefs head coach Andy Reid and OC Matt Nagy both recognized the deficiency in the vertical attack. They have asked Mahomes to take more chances downfield.
Against Chicago in his first extended action, Mahomes showed how far he’s come by connecting on two passes of more than 25 yards in the air. In fact, last season’s advanced statistics resulted in him only completing three passes that traveled over 20 yards in the air. This season—even more than last year—the Chiefs need to color outside of the lines to form an offensive blueprint. They need to put faith in Mahomes’ incredible arm strength and precision.
“We’ve got to try to put in the right plays and then obviously call it at the right time. But it’s a mindset and you’ve got to stick to it and it’s constant, every single day. Not just every week. It’s every single day and then it just becomes reality.” – Matt Nagy
Nagy’s point was that building a long-range passing attack should be an everyday commitment from players and coaches alike. Most importantly, he emphasized how critical it is to go beyond just talking about the need to be better and actually working on improving it during practice.
“Talk is cheap, right? You can’t [just] talk about it. You’ve got to be able to do it. So I think it’s a mentality of every day in practice trying to make sure you stress not only the importance of talking about it but then doing it in practice.” – Matt Nagy
Just last season, Mahomes showed his ability to complete deep shots at the most pivotal times. He threw an incredible 50-yard touchdown pass to Xavier Worthy in Super Bowl LIX. He followed it up with an incredible postseason run. Over those three games, he had 19 receptions, with eight catches for 157 yards and two touchdowns coming in the Super Bowl alone.
With Mahomes still in the process of developing his game, he knows what still lies behind him in terms of speed and playmaking ability.
“We’re fast. I think that’s probably the thing that stands out the most.” – Patrick Mahomes
Mahomes’s admission about speed being a valued commodity by the team should make everyone sit up and pay attention as it pertains to increasing their long-range passing attack. He expressed confidence that with increased opportunities to pass downfield, his receivers can make significant plays.
Nagy noted how Mahomes’ ability to make contested catches adds another layer to the offense. He pointed to key turning points from last season such as their 48-20 beatdown on the heavyweights known as the Buffalo Bills.
“He’s not just fast. He can make plays. You saw that with some of the contested catches that he made kind of towards the end of the season, if you think back to the Bills game or even the last catch he had in the Super Bowl. He’s someone that will go up and make a play on the football and so my job is to give him more opportunities.” – Patrick Mahomes
With each day of training camp, Reid and Nagy can’t wait to start executing new plays. These guys would love to see Mahomes leverage his base strengths even further. You can bet the Chiefs’ coaching staff is doing all they can to create the right mindset to promote an aggressive downfield passing game.
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