DeAndre Hopkins Defends Patrick Mahomes, Compares QB to Michael Jordan, Tom Brady

Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins spoke up for teammate Patrick Mahomes as the star quarterback is increasingly becoming the villain of the NFL thanks to his team's on-field success.

"Everybody has to choose a team they go against or that they feel is getting help from someone," Hopkins said to The Athletic's Michael Silver. "Everybody has to choose a villain, and it's easy to choose someone who's winning as much as our guy is.

"How can Patrick Mahomes be the villain? The same way Tom Brady could be, and the same way Michael Jordan was. Why do people still talk about MJ pushing off (before hitting the game-winning shot over Bryon Russell in the 1997-98 NBA Finals) almost 30 years later? Because he's one of the greatest ever to do it, and when he won his sixth, (some) people were tired of watching him win."

This is the arc that accompanies almost any legend with multiple titles.

Tom Brady and the New England Patriots were plucky underdogs when they beat the St. Louis Rams in Super Bowl XXXVI. A few championships later and fans had grown fatigued by the Patriots' dynasty.

The same was true for Jordan and the Chicago Bulls, who sparked conversations about whether their dominance in the 1990s was healthy for the NBA as a whole.

With Mahomes, we're getting there faster than usual because he's already ahead of the pace Brady set.

The 15-time Pro Bowler had three Super Bowl rings by his age-27 season, but his last four didn't come until after he had turned 37. Mahomes is one win away from a fourth title before he's 30.

Plenty of otherwise neutral observers will be rooting for the Philadelphia Eagles on Feb. 9 in Super Bowl LIX, if only to see somebody else come out on top for a change.

Even if the Eagles upset the two-time reigning champs, Mahomes will continue to cast a large shadow over the rest of the NFL.