Before the start of the season, if a time traveller told you that the Kansas Chiefs would be unbeaten in their first eight games, the you would have picked Patrick Mahomes as the chief architect for the run. But the star QB has looked the weakest [11 TDs, 9 INT] he has been in the last three years even as the team runs through opponents.
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Many feel Mahomes shouldn’t be a candidate for the Offensive Player of the Year (OPOY) award this time around. Except Colorado Buffaloes’ Travis Hunter. The college football superstar admires the composure shown by Mahomes so far. The two-way player showered praises on the star QB for gracefully dealing with the difficulties this season.
Early on in the season, Mahomes lost his two starting receivers, Rashee Rice and “Hollywood Brown”, to injuries. Weeks later, he also lost his WR3, leaving rookie Xavier Worthy as the next best option in the team.
Under usual circumstances, a situation like this would have been dealt with easily by calling in the ever-reliable and highly versatile Travis Kelce. But he has also had a slow start to the season.
Hunter noted that despite having the majority of his offensive cohort in disarray, Mahomes has managed to lead his team to an unbeaten run. That makes him his favourite for the OPOY accolade.
“You gotta understand that Patrick Mahomes lost his receivers, has to get Travis Kelce back on the track… He be going through everything and still find a way to achieve,” he said in the latest episode of The Travis Hunter Show.
Mahomes isn’t the only player who managed to impress Hunter this season.
Hunter backs Saquon Barkley as an OPOY contender
While rating Saquon Barkley’s chances for the OPOY award, Hunter couldn’t stop raving about the Philadelphia Eagles running back’s viral backward hurdle against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
He compared the RB’s cool move to the cheerleader’s trying to do a toe touch. Hunter admitted he would have been too scared to pull it off in a game.
“Saquon Brockley went crazy. He turned around and hurdled them… He looked like a cheerleader trying to do a toe touch. You see me, I’m not trying to do that. I’m too scared to be trying to do all that… all I gotta do is clip my foot and I’m being there like naaa [makes a painful expression with his face]… it ain’t happening.“
Hunter praised Barkley for the impressive season he’s had so far [6 TDs, 925 YDS, 20 REC], before pushing his name as a OPOY candidate.
Had Mahomes bolstered the unbeaten run of his team with his superlative stats, he would have been the clear favourite.
However, as things stand, there are lot of candidates for the OPOY award this season. The likes of Jayden Daniels, Jared Goff, and Lamar Jackson among others have a good shot.
We indeed have a great OPOY race to sit back and enjoy.
