It may seem like yesterday that the Kansas City Chiefs announced that they were trading Alex Smith to clear the way for their 23-year-old backup QB, Patrick Mahomes. But believe it or not, the current face of the NFL will officially be 30 years old by the time he steps onto the field in New York for Week 3.
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No longer a young up-and-coming superstar, but rather a decorated and grizzled veteran, the Texas Tech product proved to enjoy one of the most unprecedented starts to a career. He’s claimed three Lombardi trophies, a pair of All-Pro titles and regular season MVP awards, six Pro Bowl nominations, and again, all before reaching the ripe old age of 30.
Of course, he’s also managed to break his fair share of passing records as well. Thanks to his first touchdown pass of the season against the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 1, Mahomes was able to eclipse Dan Marino’s all-time record for most passing touchdowns by a quarterback before turning 30 years old.
He’ll officially close out his 20’s having thrown for 247 touchdowns, just edging out the likes of Marino, who totaled 245, and Peyton Manning. The Sheriff generated 244 passing touchdowns in hey day, falling just short of Marino’s then-all-time record.
From there, there’s certainly a bit of a drop off on the list, as the next closest quarterback is Brett Favre, who recorded 218 passing touchdowns before turning 30. Matthew Stafford helps to round out the top-five rankings with a career total of 216 passing touchdowns, but those are the only five quarterbacks in NFL history who have managed to throw 200+ touchdowns before the age of 30.
Suffice to say, Mahomes is firmly at the top of what has become an elite list, but it is worth mentioning that a few of his contemporaries could be joining him here soon. The pride and joy of the Buffalo Bills, Josh Allen, currently has a career total of 197 passing touchdowns, so it’s simply a matter of time before he becomes just the sixth quarterback in history to produce 200+ passing yards in his 20’s.
There’s also the superstar signal caller of the Baltimore Ravens, Lamar Jackson. At 28 years and 252 days of age, the two-time MVP award winner has more time on his side than Allen, but he still has a bit more ground to cover.
The Louisville legend has 172 touchdown throws to his name, meaning he’ll need at least 28 more throughout the next 15 weeks in order to join his AFC counterparts on the all-time list. Conveniently enough, however, that’s also his career average for a 17-game season. He does have an outside chance to beat Mahomes’ 247 TD record before hitting 30, but it will require him to produce at least 2 TDs every game from now onwards.
Jackson is currently leading the league in terms of passer rating, QBR, adjusted yards gained per pass attempt, and passing touchdowns. Not only is he on track to become the seventh signal caller in NFL history to accomplish this feat, he’s also progressing towards the third regular season MVP trophy of his eight-year career.
