PatrickMahomes

News: 6 days agoCoach Andy Reid said Monday that Mahomes and other starters are unlikely to play in Thursday's preseason game against Chicago, Sam McDowell of The Kansas City Star reports.

Spin: Mahomes played the first two preseason games and completed 11 of 18 passes for 120 yards, with highlights including a 37-yard completion to rookie Xavier Worthy during Saturday's loss to the Lions. Marquise Brown's health is perhaps the biggest question for Kansas City's offense ahead of a Week 1 home game against the Ravens after the wideout suffered a sternoclavicular injury Aug. 10. A recovery timeline of 4-to-6 weeks was reported shortly thereafter, putting Brown in serious doubt for the Week 1 rematch of last season's AFC Championship Game.

ESPN Fantasy Projection: Though Mahomes' 2023 saw him post his worst yards per attempt (7.0), aDOT (6.2), touchdown (4.5%) and interception (2.3%) rates of his six seasons as an NFL regular, consider the context: He was working with his weakest set of receivers in any of those years. The Chiefs were worst in the league in drops (38) and had the second-worst catch rate on throws 20-plus yards downfield (27.4%), after having been seventh best in that department the season before. Mahomes made it work -- he led the team to a Super Bowl title, after all -- and it's a testament to his overwhelming, Hall of Fame-caliber talent that he finished eighth among quarterbacks in scoring in spite of his supporting cast. The additions of Marquise Brown and Xavier Worthy, coupled with Rashee Rice's late-season emergence, should give Mahomes the weapons necessary to rebound as a top-five positional pick and early-round selection.