Mahomes Falling Out of Top Spots Is a Wake-Up Call for a Chiefs Organization That's Lost Its Way

Patrick Mahomes is not a top-five player in the NFL anymore. Let that sink in for a second. The guy who won an MVP, won a Super Bowl, and has been the face of a franchise that's dominated the AFC for half a decade is now behind multiple other quarterbacks in the eyes of serious evaluators. This is not a slight against Mahomes. This is a direct indictment of what's happening in Kansas City right now. The Chiefs organization has constructed a team that is actively limiting the best talent it has ever had, and that's a problem nobody in that organization seems willing to acknowledge.

When you watch the Chiefs play football in 2025, you see a team that has stopped investing in the infrastructure around their quarterback. They've gone cheap at receiver. They've failed to properly protect Mahomes in the pocket. Their running back situation is a disaster. Their offensive line, which was once considered elite, is aging and underperforming. This is what happens when a franchise becomes complacent. They won multiple playoff games and a Super Bowl, so they think the formula still works. It doesn't. The rest of the league has caught up. The rest of the league has built better rosters. The rest of the league has made smarter personnel decisions.

Mahomes is still an elite quarterback. Nobody with any football sense is arguing otherwise. His arm talent is elite. His ability to extend plays and create off-script is elite. His football intelligence is elite. But elite quarterbacks need elite supporting casts, and the Chiefs have systematically dismantled theirs. They let Travis Kelce age into a role player instead of building around him while he was in his prime. They traded away draft picks for players like Marcus Mariota instead of using those assets to build through the draft. They've made decision after decision that suggests they don't understand what it takes to sustain winning in the modern NFL. This is a franchise that won because of its quarterback's brilliance, not because of smart building. Now that the quarterback is being asked to do everything, the limitations are showing.

The fact that multiple other quarterbacks are ranking ahead of Mahomes in any credible evaluation tells you something important. It tells you that other franchises have figured it out better. It tells you that other organizations understand how to construct a roster that allows their quarterback to play his best football. Jalen Hurts, Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, these guys are being put in better positions to succeed. Their teams have built around them. The Eagles invested in their defense. The Bills invested in their receiving corps. The Ravens built a dominant running game. The Chiefs have done none of those things. They've convinced themselves that Mahomes is so special that he can overcome anything. He can't. Nobody can. Football doesn't work that way.

This is not to say Mahomes has declined as a player. That would be completely wrong. What I'm saying is that his ability to impact winning has been diminished by the roster construction around him. A top-five player in the NFL should be on a team that's built to win now. A top-five player in the NFL should be surrounded by playmakers who can take pressure off of him. A top-five player in the NFL should have an offensive line that gives him time to operate. The Chiefs are failing on all three fronts. This is organizational failure, not player failure.

The snubs in any ranking tell you just as much as the inclusions. When you have elite players not making top-100 lists, it usually means one of two things. Either they're overrated, or they're in situations that are completely limiting their impact on winning. I would argue it's probably both in some cases. But the principle here is sound. The game is about team construction. The game is about having the right guys in the right places. The game is about a front office understanding what it needs to build in order to maximize its best players. The Chiefs have failed on that front.

Myles Garrett dethroning Mahomes at number one is actually somewhat defensible. Garrett is having an absolutely elite season on a team that's competing. He's impacting the game on both sides of the ball in terms of how opposing offenses have to game plan. He's a disruptive force that changes everything. Mahomes is also a disruptive force, but he's operating within the constraints of a roster that doesn't match his skill level. That's the difference. That's why the debate is even there.

The narrative around the Chiefs needs to change in Kansas City. Andy Reid is a great coach. He's one of the best coaches in football history. But great coaches need great rosters. Great coaches need front offices that provide them with the tools to win. The Chiefs' front office has gotten comfortable. They've gotten lazy. They're banking on Mahomes being so special that he can overcome their mistakes. It's not going to work forever. Eventually, the quarterback's individual brilliance wears thin against the reality of inferior roster construction.

What the Chiefs need to do is completely retool. They need to go back to the drawing board. They need to invest heavily in their defense. They need to invest heavily in their receiving corps. They need to rebuild their offensive line. They need to do all of this while Mahomes is still in his prime. The clock is ticking. You don't get unlimited windows at quarterback in the NFL. Kansas City is squandering theirs.

The fact that this discussion is even happening, that we're talking about whether Mahomes belongs in a top-five conversation, should be shocking to anyone paying attention in Kansas City. This should be a wake-up call. This should be the moment where the organization realizes that winning in 2020, 2021, and 2023 doesn't guarantee anything going forward. The league evolves. Teams get better. Rosters need constant investment and improvement. The Chiefs have stopped doing that.

Mahomes will still have elite seasons. He'll still put up elite numbers. He'll still make plays that nobody else in the league can make. But being elite individually doesn't guarantee being a top-five impact player when your team is constructed the way Kansas City's is constructed. That's the real takeaway here. That's the real story. The Chiefs have a top-five talent at quarterback, but they've built a roster that doesn't match that talent level. That's organizational failure, and it's time someone said it directly.

VERDICT: The Chiefs have become a cautionary tale about what happens when a franchise gets comfortable. Mahomes deserves better. The fans deserve better. And Kansas City better figure it out fast before this window closes permanently.