It didn't take all that long into Patrick Mahomes' career for him to enter into the outskirts of the greatest quarterback of all time discussion.
That's a title most consider to be held by Patriots and Buccaneers legend Tom Brady, with maybe an argument here or there for a player from an older era.
But it's the Kansas City Chiefs' QB who felt most likely to challenge Brady in that regard.
A disappointing Super Bowl defeat in February slowed that roll just a bit, but Mahomes does have three rings and has been excellent essentially since the moment he became an NFL starter.
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This season, he'll have the chance to tie a Tom Brady NFL record.
No one since the NFL merger (1970) has reached a conference championship game in more consecutive seasons than Brady, who did it from 2011-2018, eight seasons in a row.
Mahomes has currently put up a streak of seven conference title game appearances in a row. If he does it this season, it'll tie Brady's record, per ESPN Research.
That's not the same as tying Brady's Super Bowl record, of course, but it would count for something.
The crazy thing about Mahomes and the Chiefs in this era is how consistent they've been. They have lost some regular season games, even to some bad teams, but they've always been in it at the end.
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It's especially impressive in a quarterback-loaded AFC, one that currently includes Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson and Joe Burrow.
But somehow, Mahomes is always in the picture. It's part of what makes the Chiefs so annoying to opposing fans, that metronomic consistency.
And seriously, is anyone betting against Mahomes this season? That doesn't seem all that wise.
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