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Op from the link above:
"Choose your franchise centerpiece: Drew Lock, or Patrick Mahomes?
12-09-2019, 02:35 PM
Okay, let’s pretend that we get a call from the league tomorrow. They say, essentially, “It’s in our best interest to help the proud, historic franchises with the consistent fan bases. So, we’re going to let you choose the QB to build around. You can keep what you have, or you can take any other QB in the division.” (This scenario is actually not that far-fetched, as I can’t imagine Mahomes will choose to stay in a place like Kansas City any longer than he has to, which means two more seasons.)
Who do you choose?
As I see it, there are actually some decent justifications for Mahomes. Yes, he’s a system QB. But if you have an offensive staff that is willing to tailor the offense to his strengths, that can be okay. Also, while he’s definitely showing himself to be fragile, you have to assume a smarter franchise would 1) invest so that he’s not behind a crappy offensive line; and B) avoid brain farts, like running a guy with a fragile body into the heart of one of the more vicious defenses in the league. Honestly, I don’t see any reason why, managed properly, he couldn’t have a nice, little 8-10 year career in this league, a la Joe Flacco (who, let’s not forget, won that one Super Bowl).
On the other side, Lock does seem to have that almost magical quality so many of the greats have. His arm compares to Elway’s, when he came into the league. And while he doesn’t run quite as well as Lamar Jackson, he makes Mahomes look like Carson Palmer, towards the end of his career. You can plug him into any system, and have it work (you don’t have to dumb anything down, like they’ve done in KC). And he has a body that looks built to hold up in the NFL. Can you imagine a guy like Drew Lock’s numbers dropping off as severely as Mahomes, in his second year? Yeah, I can’t either. Throw in the fact that Lock is more than a year younger than Mahomes, and the needle pushes even more in his direction.
So, do you go with the guy who had a nice second year in the league, despite not being able to really crack the lineup as a rookie? Or do you go with the guy who looks like he might be The Natural? Do you go with the guy who will probably have a nice career as an upper-level, second-tier QB in the league? Or do you go with the guy who has the physical talent to be the GOAT, but has one less season to have proven himself, at this point?
Don’t get me wrong. I think that most league people would basically say, “Duh, you take Lock.” But I think it might be closer than we might assume. What do you think?"
I've read it twice; it's still just about the dumbest take I've read about Pat. Which is saying something.
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