Chiefs' Patrick Mahomes: I Want to Maximize Every Day in NFL So I'll Have No Regrets

Kansas City Chiefs star Patrick Mahomes has already had a Hall-of-Fame career after just five seasons as a starting quarterback, but he remains as focused as ever on continuing to improve to secure his legacy in the NFL.

In an interview with Rob Maaddi of the Associated Press, the two-time NFL MVP explained how he wants to "maximize every single day" so that by the time "your career's done, you have no regrets":

There's a valid argument to be made that Mahomes has had the best start to his career of any quarterback in NFL history.

A first-round pick in the 2017 NFL draft, Mahomes didn't become Kansas City's starter until his second season. He threw for 50 touchdowns, tied for the second-most in a season in league history, and won his first MVP award in 2018.

Over the past five seasons, the Chiefs have won at least 12 games and played in the AFC Championship Game every year. They have three Super Bowl appearances during that span, including two victories for the 2019 and 2022 seasons.

In terms of team success, the only recent quarterback who can match Mahomes' accomplishments within his first five seasons as a starter is Tom Brady.

Brady won three Super Bowls and two Super Bowl MVPs in his first four seasons as the starting quarterback for the New England Patriots. He didn't have the individual accolades at that point with two top-three finishes in MVP voting from 2001 to '05.

Last season was the biggest feather in Mahomes' cap as an all-time great player. There were a lot of questions about what Kansas City's offense would look like without Tyreek Hill after he was traded to the Miami Dolphins in March 2022.

Mahomes had the first prolonged struggles of his NFL career for a stretch in 2021. He threw for 2,166 yards, 11 touchdowns, eight interceptions and completed 61.4 percent of his attempts over eight games from Week 5 to 13.

The 2021 season ended for the Chiefs with Mahomes throwing for 55 yards and getting picked off twice in the second half/overtime in a 24-21 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals in the AFC Championship Game.

Mahomes came back by winning his second MVP award after leading the league with 5,250 yards and 41 touchdowns last season.