Patrick Mahomes had every reason to change his playing style to career-low, now he could hit new heights

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The Kansas City Chiefs are heading into the summer break as NFL Super Bowl champions for the second year in succession but they had to stare into the face of adversity for their latest ring.

Patrick Mahomes has won back-to-back rings without an elite wide-receiving core at his disposal on offense.

In 2023, receivers such as Kadarius Toney, Skyy Moore, and Marquez Valdes-Scantling struggled to have an impact, with several players enduring countless drops.

Kansas City Chiefs lead the league in dropped passes on route to another Super Bowl ring

The franchise topped the NFL with the most dropped passes in the league (44), and the franchise has been quick to rectify the situation.

Marquez Valdes-Scantling had been cut from the roster in March and recently joined the Buffalo Bills. Prospects like Toney and Moore are still under contract but are set to take a backseat in 2024.

Offseason acquisition Marquise Brown has been developing promising early chemistry with Patrick Mahomes in the OTAs and mandatory minicamp.

Moreover, rookie wide receiver Xavier Worthy will add further threat downfield but has been sidelined in the offseason program with a tweaked hamstring.

Chiefs reunite with their Super Bowl LVIII hero Mecole Hardman in free agency

Super Bowl game-winner Mecole Hardman has been brought back from free agency to provide further depth.

2023 rookie Rashee Rice was shining light in a struggling offense and he managed to break several NFL and franchise rookie records. Rice finished with 938 yards and seven touchdowns in the regular season.

However, due to an ongoing off-field investigation, the young player could be banned for a prolonged time.

NFL expert suggests the reason why Patrick Mahomes opted to throw short instead of deep

The franchise has brought in new players to facilitate the opportunity to throw the ball deep in 2024. Patrick Mahomes has lacked a consistent deep-ball presence since Tyreek Hill but NFL expert Charean Williams believes this is not the only reason that prohibited him from throwing deep.

“He (Mahomes) hasn’t been successful for the last two years because I think he lacks speed at the position (wide receiver) and he couldn’t trust the guys. We all remember MVS (Marquez Valdes-Scantling) got loose over the middle and dropped the ball,” Williams said via NFL on NBC.

“There were so many drops by receivers that he couldn’t trust them, so the check-downs sometimes were the easier play to pick up big yards.”

It was obvious Patrick Mahomes did not trust his downfield targets but now has new weapons in 2024

Williams believes that Mahomes did not always trust his target downfield to haul in the passes and opted for shorter throws that had a greater chance of success.

This is true, Mahomes through an all-time low seven yards per attempt in 2024. In addition, a yards per catch of 10.4 and a quarterback passer rating of 63.1 were a career-low.

All the evidence pointed to the two-time MVP being discouraged by his options downfield and avoiding taking risks going deep and instead settling for shorter openings.

Someone like Scantling caught a career-low 21 passes on the season, further evidence to highlight how Mahomes did not see him as a suitable target.

Nonetheless, Mahomes has claimed that the team is built to throw the ball deep next season and has portrayed an open confidence that he has lacked in previous seasons.

Chiefs Kingdom can take motivation into the season that their quarterback has demonstrated a new mindset with the weapons on offense.