Patrick Mahomes has drawn parallels with Tom Brady ever since he won his first Super Bowl with the Kansas City Chiefs. And now it will be even harder to avoid these comparisons with Bill Belichick mentioning an interesting similarity between them.
During an appearance on the “Pat McAfee Show” on Monday, the six-time Super Bowl champion has praised Mahomes’ work ethic, claiming he sets an example for his teammates on the Kansas City Chiefs just like Brady did back in the day on the New England Patriots.
Belichick discussed what it’s like to keep a competitive spirit when entering a new season with a team has won so much recently. That happened to the Patriots earlier this century, and it’s happening to the Chiefs now.
“We’ll see what Kansas City’s challenges are this year,” Belichick said. “I do think one of the biggest things for them is great leadership from quarterback. Patrick Mahomes is the hardest worker on the team, which is a great thing to have. We had that with Tom Brady, so nobody slacks off when the quarterback doesn’t slack off, the receivers, the offensive line, defense puts pressure on them, I’m sure practices are very competitive.“
Bill Belichick compares Mahomes’ leadership with Brady’s
Belichick, who saw Brady’s potential before anyone else in the 2000 NFL Draft, explained how the quarterback’s dedication and hard work made him so valuable for the Patriots. And he feels Mahomes has just the same importance on the Chiefs.
“Tom was one of the hardest workers as a rookie and didn’t even play. We had a lot of rookies on the roster … he would take those guys out extra after practice and run through the plays,” Belichick said. “He improved every day for 20 years. But I think the biggest improvement came in the first four years. But he continued to work.
“The big thing every year was ‘Who are the receivers? Who are the tight ends? How do I make them better‘. How do you learn to use those players. That’s one of the things that Mahomes does really well. He knows what his players can do, how to get the most out of them.”
Belichick praises Mahomes, Brady’s team-first mentality
Another thing Belichick has praised from both Mahomes and Brady is how they’ve never made a problem about their contracts, prioritizing the team’s overall strength to continue succeeding over the desire to make more money.
“When you start at the top with a guy like Mahomes or Brady who do everything to make sure there’s no issues with their contract, then that makes it a little bit easier with everybody else,” Belichick said. “And everybody else can respect the overall team concept and the team goals—not saying they wanna play for nothing, that’s not the point—, try to find some way to compromise to work it out. When Mahomes is out there working out hard, Brady is out there working, the other players want to be there too, so let’s say it’s a better solution when the quarterback’s not part of the problem.“