Patrick Mahomes knew, more or less, as much as Brett Veach did through mid-March that Tyreek Hill might not be part of the Chiefs as contract talks stalled with Hill, and Kansas City pivoted from negotiating an extension to negotiating a trade for the star receiver. As the GM worked on a deal, his star quarterback was updated throughout the process.
And, yet, nothing could prepare him for the call itself.
“Yeah, I mean, still, I played my entire career with Tyreek, so definitely there was a little bit of shock when he got traded,” Mahomes told me over Zoom in March. “At the same time, they kept me involved in the entire process, and I know that we made a tremendous effort to try to keep him in Kansas City. Tyreek, he’s such a tremendous player, he got what he deserved, and I’m happy for him. And he’s at a place where he has a home and he’s closer to family and stuff like that. So I’m very happy for him. We had to move forward.”
Jay Biggerstaff/USA TODAY Sports (Mahomes); Katie Stratman/USA TODAY Sports (Hill)
Mahomes would then explain how, as special as Hill was as a player (“One of a kind,” he called him), there was a way the Chiefs could be better as a result of the trade. “I think it’ll help our offense in a sense where they can’t just focus on Travis [Kelce] and Tyreek, Travis and Tyreek.” Meanwhile, in Miami, Hill was, well, saying the same sort of stuff about how his new quarterback, Tua Tagovailoa, could bring even more out of him than Mahomes.
At the time, it seemed like coping.
Eight months later, it looks—incredibly enough—like both guys were right. And that what everyone just watched in Kansas City for the four seasons before this one was no Batman and Robin act. It was more like Batman and Batman.
This week, I ran my annual executives poll, handing ballots out and gathering votes to try and identify how those inside the league view the NFL at the season’s midpoint—nine weeks of regular season ball down, nine weeks to go. The texts went out Tuesday morning, and I got 38 back in time for our story with 20 of the league’s 32 GMs voting.
To me, the two ex-Chiefs teammates produced the most interesting result of the whole thing. Over their first half-season apart, Mahomes was the overwhelming pick for MVP, and Hill was the overwhelming pick for Offensive Player of the Year. Both won more than half the votes in those categories, and more than doubled up the guys who finished in second place.
Now, it’s obviously not exactly breaking news that Mahomes and Hill, who played in four AFC title games and two Super Bowls together, are really, really good. But these breakups usually don’t go this way, where the only revelation is both guys were every bit as good as we thought. And even when that’s obvious, there’s usually someone drawing the short straw—Davante Adams and Aaron Rodgers, for example, both remain awesome, but their teams are a combined 5-12 right now (they went 39-10 together from 2019-21).
So as we dive into this year’s results, we know that they emphatically confirm the credibility that Mahomes and Hill have as players from those paid to evaluate this stuff. And, in a roundabout way, they also lend credibility to the things those guys say, too.
MOST VALUABLE PLAYER
Winner: Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes (20.5 votes).
Also receiving votes: Eagles QB Jalen Hurts (eight votes), Bills QB Josh Allen (5.5 votes), Ravens QB Lamar Jackson (two votes), Titans RB Derrick Henry (one vote).
There have been signs that Mahomes could pull off what he has this year. He lost skill guys such as Kareem Hunt, Sammy Watkins and Chris Conley early in his career, and weathered those storms. He played with a rapidly declining line in 2020 and got to a Super Bowl, then got back to the AFC title game last year with a completely overhauled group up front. But to do this in Year 1 post-Hill—the Chiefs are scoring 30 points per game, rank first in total yards and passing yards, and are second in third-down efficiency—is damn impressive. It’s also not overstating things to say that Mahomes, at 27, is where Tom Brady and Peyton Manning were 15-20 years ago, on a Hall of Fame trajectory. And while we’re here, it’s something else that Hurts is second, outdistancing Allen for that spot in voting, and indicative of the massive amount of growth for the Eagles quarterback.
*—One voter abstained from voting in this category, hence the 37 votes.
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Winner: Dolphins WR Tyreek Hill (24 votes).
Also receiving votes: Allen (four votes), Henry (2.5 votes), Hurts (two votes), Bills WR Stefon Diggs (one vote), Vikings WR Justin Jefferson. (one vote), Mahomes (one vote), Seahawks QB Geno Smith (one vote), Dolphins QB Tua Tagovailoa (one vote), Giants RB Saquon Barkley (.5 votes).
Hill’s on pace for 144 catches for 2,085 yards and six touchdowns. And, really, when you consider how long he’s been doing this, and how defenses prioritize containing him on a week-to-week basis (his touchdown total being lower this year as an indication of that don’t-let-him-get-behind-you approach), it’s very easy to make the argument that he’s the most unstoppable player in football. I can also say, after talking to him last weekend, that he thinks playing for Mike McDaniel has helped him round out his game. “He has truly turned me into a full receiver who really runs the full route tree,” Hill told me. “So teams really got to respect that. I’m breaking in, I’m breaking out. I’m breaking short, I’m going deep. It’s not a one-dimensional thing. So, man, he’s able to put me off the ball, he’s able to put me on the ball, send me in motion. All kinds of gadget things to help me get open. I’m really thankful to just be in this situation.” Fair to say, the Dolphins are pretty grateful to have him.
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Winner: Cowboys LB Micah Parsons (27.5 votes).
Also receiving votes: Patriots OLB Matthew Judon (four votes), 49ers DE Nick Bosa (three votes), Titans DT Jeffery Simmons (1.5 votes), Browns DE Myles Garrett (one vote), Broncos CB Patrick Surtain (one vote).
What we have here is a true unicorn being treated as, well, a unicorn—“The most explosive and versatile defensive player in the league” is how one veteran AFC executive described Parsons. That’s why the stat line doesn’t really do Parsons justice, and that’s even though it’s impressive (he has 36 tackles, eight sacks, two forced fumbles and two pass breakups). What the 23-year-old is, above all else, is almost like a Rob Gronkowski on defense, where when the huddle is broken, the other team immediately has to figure out where he’s lining up, and then try to get an idea on what he’s about to do. “It’s hard to put a back on him if he’s a blitzer,” Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn told me. “So you got the five o-linemen, O.K., Parsons is here, he’s here, he’s over there. And so they’ll say, with the back, I don’t know if I wanna do that. And then if he’s on the end of the line, what’s that count? If he’s in the linebacker spot, what’s that count? That’s where I think his uniqueness shows. … Two of the Hall of Fame guys I coached, Jason Taylor and Bryant Young, they made as big an impact on me as anybody, and you knew where they were gonna be and they were still hard to block. And so I’ve been around a lot of players. He would be a really good D-end if you just left him there. But I think it affects the game more where we use him in two spots.” And it makes him different from just about everyone else.
OFFENSIVE ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
Troy Taormina/USA TODAY Sports
Winner: Texans RB Dameon Pierce (16 votes).
Also receiving votes: Seahawks RB Kenneth Walker III (14 votes), Saints WR Chris Olave (five votes), Jets WR Garrett Wilson (two votes), Seahawks OT Charles Cross (one vote).
Pierce’s numbers are really, really good—the fourth-round pick is sixth in the league in rushing yards (678), and his 4.6-yard average for a team that’s struggled to threaten opponents in the passing game is excellent. He’s broken five runs of 20-plus, and is pacing for just under 1,300 yards. But there was a number someone passed along that probably best encapsulates the Florida products rookie season: 58 broken tackles. That’s between six and seven a game for a guy who’s averaging 16 and 17 carries a game. And it’s another sign that the 2022 draft class—the first the Deshaun Watson trade has impacted for the Texans—is bringing a franchise that seemed hopeless with a good bit of promise.
DEFENSIVE ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
Winner: Jets CB Sauce Gardner (28 votes).
Also receiving votes: Seahawks CB Tariq Woolen (six votes), Jaguars LB Devin Lloyd (three votes), Lions DE Aidan Hutchinson (one vote).
The biggest blowout on the board, and it’s well-deserved—Gardner leads the NFL (not rookies, the entire league) with 13 pass breakups, has two interceptions and has come big in a number of big spots, one being on the Bills’ last offensive snap last Sunday in a huge Jets upset (Sauce recovered on Gabe Davis to knock away Josh Allen’s bid to convert fourth-and-21 with a 70-yard heave). Even better, he has star-corner persona to match. “I always tell everybody, I ain’t the average rookie,” Gardener told me postgame Sunday, laughing, as he took me through a play early in the game when Stefon Diggs beat him. “So I gotta take that and I got to make sure I’m trying to be a leader. And I’m being a leader as a rookie, I gotta be vocal. I can’t be one of those people who backs down from challenges. I love competition, so when he caught that play, I told him Alright, let’s go. Let’s do it.” Gardner has, for sure, been doing it.
COACH OF THE YEAR
Winner: Brian Daboll, Giants (14 votes).
Also receiving votes: Nick Sirianni, Eagles (nine votes), Pete Carroll, Seahawks (6.5 votes), Robert Saleh, Jets (three votes), Mike Vrabel, Titans (two votes), Kevin O’Connell, Vikings (1.5 votes), Mike McDaniel, Dolphins (one vote), Andy Reid, Chiefs (one vote).
The common refrain—Daboll and his staff are absolutely maximizing what’s universally seen as a very average roster. And it’s not just evident in the wins and losses. It’s also there in how every single position group is performing to its potential. There’s a reason why the Giants stood pat at the trade deadline despite their 6-2 record. Daboll and GM Joe Schoen know exactly where they are, a couple offseasons away from having the roster where they want it. But what they’re showing now mirrors what we saw five years ago from Sean McDermott and Brandon Beane in Buffalo (no coincidence, that’s where Schoen and Daboll came from), and that’s a lot of signs that there’s a bright future ahead. Because it’s pretty impressive where they are in the here and now.
EXECUTIVE OF THE YEAR
Winners: Eagles GM Howie Roseman (16 votes).
Also receiving votes: Seahawks GM John Schneider (15 votes), Jets GM Joe Douglas (four votes), Dolphins GM Chris Grier (two votes), Bills GM Brandon Beane (one vote).
Roseman, without question, is on a hot streak. He was right on Hurts. He was right on Sirianni. He knew when to cut bait with and extracted a first-rounder for Carson Wentz, and has flipped picks to where he had two first-rounders last April, two 2023 first-rounders (one of which could be a top-10 pick), and two second-rounders in ’24. He acquired A.J. Brown. He got the secondary right in bringing in veterans Darius Slay, James Bradberry and Chauncey Gardner-Johnson. And he has a team that resembles the 2017 Super Bowl champions, built with veteran strength through the lines of scrimmage. The amazing thing? There are just eight guys left from that title team, and every one of them is either a specialist (2) or a lineman (6). The rest of the roster has been reconstructed. Which is pretty remarkable. And while we’re here, hat tip to the Seahawks—who were one vote short in this category and Offensive Rookie of the Year, and had the runner-up for Defensive Rookie of the Year. Schneider’s done a heck of a job, and the rookie class, headed up by Cross, Woolen and Walker, looks like a foundational group, the way the 2010, ’11 and ’12 classes once were in Seattle.
