Patrick Mahomes is the one QB who could topple Tom Brady's records

After much speculation, Tom Brady officially announced his retirement on Monday, marking the end of a sure-fire Hall of Fame career.

Over 22 seasons, Brady took ownership of practically every important NFL record for a quarterback to have, including the hallowed career touchdown (624) and career passing yardage marks (84,520). Brady engaged in some incredible battles for those records with contemporaries Peyton Manning and Drew Brees, but “The GOAT” outplayed them in the end.

Make way for Mahomes

After witnessing the end of an era, a logical follow-up question is: Who’s next? In other words, is there a quarterback playing right now who could possibly take ownership of some or all of Brady’s records?

We believe that the signal caller who will give Brady a run for his money is Patrick Mahomes. The 25-year-old Texas Tech product is just getting started in this league, and has already amassed a stunning 18,991 passing yards over four seasons, including his 2018 MVP campaign, in which he threw for 50 touchdowns.

The Kansas City Chiefs signal caller is currently averaging 4,747.75 passing yards per season. He may not be able to reach his 22nd season like Brady did, but at that rate, he would not have to before breaking Brady’s record. If Mahomes plays 18 total seasons at his current rate, he’ll amass 85,459 passing yards.

The same can be said of the passing touchdown record – if Mahomes continues averaging 37.75 passing touchdowns per season, he’ll eclipse Brady’s mark early in his 17th NFL season.

Mahomes will benefit from the era he plays in

Unlike Brady, Mahomes will enjoy playing 17-game (and possibly 18-game) seasons for most of his career, should health permit. Die-hard Brady fans will probably demand an asterisk be placed on any potential Mahomes records, but considering the NFL has constantly evolved to add more games (fans of a certain age can vividly recall 14-game seasons), that seems unfair.

Mahomes is also part of a different generation of quarterback, one allowed to improvise. In Brady’s heyday, the best signal callers in the league were predominately “pocket passers.” Now quarterbacks like Mahomes, Josh Allen, and Joe Burrow are allowed to scramble almost at will, making themselves as much of a running threat as a passing threat, thus opening up greater passing opportunities.

This, combined with an elevated proclivity to pass the ball and go for it on fourth down, all work in Mahomes’ favor when it comes to piling up statistics.

It may seem hard to believe that Brady’s records will be eclipsed, but Dan Marino’s passing yards mark was thought impossible to reach too, and now’s he’s been bumped down to seventh all-time (61,361). It’s often said that “NFL” means “Not For Long,” and that maxim could hold true in regards to Brady's records if Mahomes builds on a brilliant start to his potential Hall of Fame career.