Are the Broncos going to face the real Patrick Mahomes or just what’s left of him?

There’s a version of Patrick Mahomes that terrorized the NFL for the better part of a decade. The no-look passes. The off-platform wizardry. The fourth-quarter comebacks that made the impossible look routine.

That version of the quarterback made Kansas City the most-dangerous team in football for years. The question heading into the 2026 season opener is whether that version still exists.

On a recent edition of “Stokley and Evans, with Mark Schlereth” on 104.3 The Fan, the hosts examined what awaits the Broncos from their “Monday Night Football” opponent in Week 1. And the picture they painted of Mahomes and the Chiefs was far from the dynasty that once dominated the conference.

Mike Evans framed the moment in terms that cut straight to the core of the conversation.

“Starting against this Broncos defense on Monday night, Patrick Mahomes is kind of in a ‘What are you now, at this stage of your career?'” Evans said.

It’s a fair question. Mahomes suffered a season-ending ACL and LCL tear in his left knee during Week 15 last year. He hasn’t played a snap since.

Even before the injury, the numbers were trending in a direction Kansas City fans don’t want to acknowledge. Mahomes finished last season with 3,587 yards, 22 touchdowns and 11 interceptions, his lowest full-season totals since becoming a starter. The yards and touchdowns were numbers the league hadn’t seen from him since his rookie year, when he appeared in just one game.

Evans pushed the question further.

“Are you still Patrick Mahomes, or are you a lesser version of it?” he asked.

Mark Schlereth, however, wasn’t ready to write off the quarterback himself. His concerns live elsewhere on the Kansas City roster.

“I’ll still look at Patrick Mahomes as being elite and crazy good. I look at the Chiefs as a little bit more limited,” Schlereth said.

That distinction matters. Schlereth’s critique isn’t about Mahomes’ talent, it’s about what the organization has put around him. And when he started walking through the weapons chart, the picture became increasingly bleak.

“I think Xavier Worthy’s a bit of a one-trick pony. I think he’s a speed guy. But I think there’s not a lot else to his game,” Schlereth said.

He then pointed to the absence that has quietly hollowed out Kansas City’s receiver room for multiple seasons.

“Rashee Rice hasn’t been available the last couple of years. And that guy looked like he was gonna be a big-time performer for them,” Schlereth said.

And then came the assessment of the one weapon that used to be Mahomes’ ultimate safety valve.

“(Travis) Kelce is limited. And you know Andy Reid doesn’t wanna run the ball in the first place,” Schlereth said.

That’s a damning inventory. A declining tight end. A one-dimensional speed receiver. A promising young weapon who hasn’t been healthy. And a head coach whose offensive philosophy has always leaned away from establishing the run.

Even a fully healthy Mahomes would face challenges operating inside that ecosystem. A Mahomes coming off a torn ACL and LCL, stepping onto the field for the first time in nine months, against the best defense in the NFL, that is a different conversation entirely.

The Broncos defense finished last season as one of the most dominant units in football. Pat Surtain II erases receivers. Nik Bonitto attacks quarterbacks. The front seven generates pressure at a rate that makes even the most mobile QBs uncomfortable. Mahomes, whose mobility has always been a foundational part of his game, will be testing a surgically repaired knee against that pass rush on the biggest stage of Week 1.

Evans and Schlereth aren’t predicting the end of Mahomes. They are simply acknowledging that the player walking into Arrowhead on Monday night may not be the same one the league spent years trying to figure out. And the Broncos, more than any team on the schedule, are built to expose whatever limitations remain.

Related

Broncos bring back assistant coach who was let go after being arrestedBoth the Broncos and Ben Powers got security for the year with his contract restructureBroncos offering half-price game tickets for as low as $23Colorado native earns a 99 rating in new ‘Madden’ game, but no BroncosIt’s time for the Broncos to unleash a new level of urgency under Davis WebbThe Jaylen Waddle hype has Brandon Stokley a little nervous