MIAMI (AP) — Two-time NFL MVP and Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback Kurt Warner can’t wait to find out just how good reigning MVP Patrick Mahomes can be.
“We don’t even know Patrick’s untapped potential yet,” Warner said Thursday. “How good can he be? I remember when I was with (former coach) Mike Martz, we just continued to push that envelope and see how far we could go, and it was part of the fun of playing the game.”
The NFL Network analyst says he wonders if the league has ever seen a quarterback with all the skills Mahomes has. He led the Chiefs to the AFC championship game in his first season as a starter while winning the NFL MVP, and now he has them in the Super Bow l for the first time since 1970.
His athleticism and arm strength is similar to Aaron Rodgers, and Warner said Mahomes also can play in the pocket like other great quarterbacks. But Warner said what separates Mahomes the most is his ability to creatively see the game, something only a few quarterbacks have had.
“A lot to be determined yet, but I do think there is the potential for him to be the most complete quarterback we may have ever seen in this game,” Warner said.
On the other side Sunday is Jimmy Garoppolo who could help San Francisco do what Warner managed in 1999 with the then-St. Louis Rams by winning a Super Bowl a season after going 4-12. Warner said Garoppolo sometimes misses defenders or focuses so much on making a throw that he misses receivers, noting a couple of opportunities Minnesota missed at interceptions in the divisional round.
Warner expects Garoppolo to play well in his first Super Bowl as a starter after winning two rings as Tom Brady’s backup in New England. His question is whether Garoppolo can make the throw the 49ers need to make the difference Sunday.
“Do the Chiefs make that play?” Warner asked. “Can Jimmy avoid that play? That to me is probably a bigger question than do I think he can make enough plays to win. Yeah, I definitely think that.”