Kansas City Chiefs fans couldn't help but pay attention to ESPN's annual player ranking report. The ranking was determined by a wealth of execs, coaches, and scouts asked to rank their top ten at the position. Shockingly, it wasn't Patrick Mahomes sitting at the top of the pack, but current rival Buffalo Bills lead man Josh Allen. Mahomes placed second, and the reasoning behind it was baffling to say the least.
Nevertheless, it's clear that league-wide respect for Mahomes has faltered these past years due to a drop in statistical production. And to that I, along with most Chiefs fans, would warn the doubters to watch out. Because when Patrick Mahomes feels slighted, good things tend to happen in Kansas City and usually parades follow.
Incidentally, an AFC West rival's signal-caller was nowhere to be seen on the list. That would be Denver Broncos signal-caller Bo Nix. While there has been a lot of momentum around the former Oregon product now entering his third season, Kansas City has had a front-row seat to some obvious holes within Nix's games. It seems that the league sees this as well, with Nix not even being listed as an honorable mention but simply put as a footnote at the bottom of the list.
Chiefs fans were proven right all along about the Broncos signal-caller
Nix doesn't yet have the admiration of league decision-makers when you look at this ranking, and it is hard to disagree. In 2025 alone, Nix threw for a gobsmacking 612 pass attempts but amassed just 3,931 yards. That comes out to an abysmal 6.4 yards per target and a low 4.1 touchdown throw percentage, as he reached the end zone just 25 times.
His playoff numbers are even worse. In two games, Nix has completed just 39 passes at a below 58% completion rate on 6.2 yards per attempt. It's pretty clear that the main reason Denver garnered a 14-3 record and the No. 1 seed last season was due to its haunting defense, which was top three in both points allowed (18.3) and total yards allowed (278.2), as well as a league-leading 68 team sacks. The next closest was the Atlanta Falcons at 57.
Denver has an incredible roster and is a viable rival of Kansas City. However, this shouldn't be confused with quarterback greatness, as Nix is not deserving of the same place in the conversation as more accomplished options.
For the Chiefs, this is nice confirmation that they far and away have the division's best starter. Not that this was ever in question for the fanbase itself, but with the level of loudmouth clickbaiters running rampant, it is nice to see that reason is still winning out in some corners.
The one fault that Kansas City fans are going to continue to take with this ranking is putting Mahomes behind a guy in Allen who has yet to beat him in a playoff game four times over. There are just a small handful of QB's whose career accomplishments compare to Mahomes, and that is often being forgotten in the 2026 offseason.
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