Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes has been overtaken by a trio of younger quarterbacks – Lamar Jackson, Josh Allen, and Joe Burrow – for the highest rating in Madden 26, which will feature NFL RedZone host Scott Hanson. Meanwhile, the ‘FOX NFL Sunday’ lineup for the 2026 season has been confirmed following Jimmy Johnson’s departure.
Despite his current 95 overall rating, Mahomes is optimistic about improving his score, though. “I like playing Madden, so I would like to be rated higher…” he explained. “But I’ve got to play and showcase that stuff on the field. I believe that if I go out there and play the football I want to play, we can get to 99 pretty quickly.”
Mahomes is coming off a season with lower-than-usual stats, completing 67.5 percent of his passes for 3,926 yards with a 45-11 touchdown-interception ratio and a 67.6 QBR (career lows in passing yards and touchdowns). Meanwhile, a new teammate on the Chiefs has quickly formed an opinion on him and Travis Kelce.
Jackson (99), Allen (99), and Burrow (98) are among the 22 players who have surpassed Mahomes in the rankings. Seven players achieved a perfect 99 overall: Saquon Barkley, Lane Johnson, Ja’Marr Chase, Justin Jefferson, and Myles Garrett.
Most of Mahomes’s throwing stats remain impressive, including his 97 throw power, 97 accuracy under pressure, and 97 throw on the run. However, one statistic stands out as a weak point: his 83 throw accuracy deep.
Last season, Kansas City ranked 31st in pass completions traveling 20 yards beyond the line of scrimmage with just 12. Mahomes’s primary target, Rashee Rice, was sidelined for most of the campaign due to injury.
While he’s returned to full health during training camp, Rice appears set to face a four-to-six-game suspension. During June, Mahomes praised his receiving corps enthusiastically, highlighting Rice, Hollywood Brown, 2024 first-round selection Xavier Worthy, and promising fourth-round rookie Jalen Royals who has impressed in camp.
“We’re fast. I think that’s probably the thing that stands out the most,” he noted. “We have guys that can roll. Our job is to test the defenses down the field, and we have to get back to doing that if we want to open up other guys underneath.
“Coach Reid has challenged me this offseason to push the ball down the field, let guys have chances to make plays and then once we get that back to where we want to be in our standard that we believe we should have, then we can come back to the underneath stuff.”
Mahomes requires no validation as a signal-caller. He’s captured three Super Bowl titles and earned two league MVP honors while securing Pro Bowl selections in six of his seven campaigns as a full-time starter.
The Chiefs kick off their 2025 campaign against the Los Angeles Chargers in Brazil on September 5.