For years, Patrick Mahomes has existed above rankings.
He wasn’t just listed near the top — he defined it.
But after a chaotic 2025 season, the conversation sounds different. And this time, it comes with a number attached.
Thirteen.
That’s where NFL.com’s Nick Shook placed Mahomes among the league’s 63 starting quarterbacks from the 2025 season. Not top five. Not top ten.
Thirteenth.
For most quarterbacks, that ranking would signal respectability. For Mahomes, it feels like a headline.
Shook didn’t hold back in his assessment. He acknowledged Mahomes “tried his best” but emphasized that even he couldn’t rescue Kansas City from collapse. From early-season miscues to late-season desperation, the Chiefs’ year spiraled long before Mahomes’ ACL tear in Week 15 ended it definitively.
The numbers tell part of the story.
From November until his injury, Mahomes posted a 5–7 touchdown-to-interception ratio. The margins shrank. The magic moments disappeared. The details — penalties, protection breakdowns, timing issues — compounded.
The dynasty didn’t just wobble.
It stalled.
Kansas City’s 2025 campaign has been described as a dumpster fire — injuries, inconsistent execution, costly mistakes. For the first time in years, the Chiefs looked mortal. And for the first time in even longer, Mahomes looked human.
But context matters.
ACL injuries don’t just end seasons — they distort narratives. By the time Mahomes went down against the Chargers, the Chiefs were already struggling to find rhythm. When he fell, so did any remaining hope of salvaging perception.
Now, heading into 2026, the question isn’t whether Mahomes will return.
It’s which version will.
Reports before the Super Bowl indicated that Mahomes intends to be ready for Week 1. Admirable? Absolutely. Realistic? Perhaps. Advisable? That’s where debate begins.
History shows that quarterbacks returning from ACL injuries often require time — not just physically, but mentally. Pocket presence shifts subtly. Risk tolerance recalibrates. Confidence rebuilds snap by snap.
Some have suggested sitting out the entire 2026 season to ensure full recovery.
Mahomes, predictably, isn’t wired that way.
Competitors of his caliber rarely accept pause.
And here’s where the ranking becomes more than a number.
Bulletin board material.
For an athlete who has already collected MVPs, Super Bowls, and playoff comebacks, being labeled the 13th-best quarterback may sting differently. It reframes him — not as the standard, but as the underdog.
That’s unfamiliar territory.
But perhaps dangerous territory.
Because doubted greatness often sharpens focus.
The Chiefs, too, face recalibration. The AFC landscape has evolved. Younger quarterbacks are ascending. Defenses are adjusting. Kansas City can no longer rely solely on improvisation and late-game heroics.
The structure must improve. Protection must stabilize. Discipline must return.
Mahomes alone cannot carry structural flaws indefinitely.
Yet rankings rarely measure resilience.
They measure production.
And 2025, by any objective standard, wasn’t elite.
So is 13 a disrespect?
Or an accurate snapshot of a season disrupted by injury and instability?
The answer likely lies somewhere in between.
Mahomes’ career résumé suggests regression isn’t permanent. But the league doesn’t wait for nostalgia. It evaluates what you are — not what you were.
When Week 1 of 2026 arrives, Mahomes won’t just be returning from ACL surgery.
He’ll be returning from doubt.
And if history has taught us anything, it’s that doubting Patrick Mahomes rarely ages well.
Still, the NFL moves quickly.
Dynasties don’t come with lifetime immunity.
The ranking is out there now. The narrative is circulating.
Thirteen.
Whether that becomes motivation — or a sign of shifting reality — will be decided not by analysts, but by how Mahomes responds when the lights turn back on.
And if he truly is starting the season as the 13th-best quarterback in football…
The rest of the league might want to be careful what they wished for.
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