“That ain’t Pat, ya’ll.” – Listen, Chiefs winning the AFC champ game, and Dylan Raiola won’t be there? That is not possible, man. With all the “hate” that has been flooding on X around this 19 y/o, it’s still very refreshing to see him not bat an eye and continue his Patrick Mahomes tradition. Haircut – check. Beard – check. Same celebration style – freaking check. But you know the best part? No one knows how Dylan Raiola even got into the Chiefs’ locker room. No joke. When we first saw the clip, we thought it was Nebraska or something – he-k, even AI. But nope. This boy was there cracking jokes with the big shots – but how? How on earth does he get a better locker room access than THE Taylor Swift herself?

“He was at the game with uh now teammate Dawson Merritt. So this makes some amount of sense,” Mitch Sherman pointed out on Locked On Nebraska. Hey, Dave Merritt, Dawson’s father, is the AC for the Chiefs so the connection makes sense. Even though Ms. Swift has better access to a “single” player, our boy Raiola over here has access to the whole team. And folks, let’s keep the “creepy” accusations aside for a second. See, we understand. Trying to copy so much about Mahomes does start looking a bit weird – this ain’t the show YOU at the end of the day, right? Is it really that bad when a 19 y/o idolizes his “idol”?

Staying away from the “stalker” narrative – if, even after all this, we don’t see Raiola up there with the Chiefs during his NFL run, then we will be very disappointed. He has a lot going for him, honestly. Now, if we start using the Huskers 2024 run as a staple to drive the narrative behind Raiola’s skills, then it won’t be fair.

He was a true freshman, and Matt Rhule threw way too much at the guy. At the end of the day, he is still new, and it doesn’t matter if he has trained with Mahomes or not – the pressure of being QB1 will get to him and break him down. And that is exactly what happened.

First 3 games of the season, and Raiola was curving big-time defensive players like it was “just another day” on the playground for him. Fast forward a few games in, and the Huskers go on a 4-game losing streak – a pretty ugly one as well. Raiola tried. It wasn’t working out. And it is FINEE!! It’s 2025 that counts now.

Gaining the edge, one recruit at a time: Huskers revamp

103rd on Scoring Offense and 94th on Total Offense – it is Dana Holgorsen‘s job to fix this now. With the premier offensive mind on board, we could see Huskers do a total 180 on their offensive strength. The transfer portal exodus indeed left Rhule gasping for air, but there are some solutions at hand, as well.

With Raiola gaining much-required experience after surviving his freshman year, it is time to give a receiver that compliments his style. Dane Key and Hardley Gilmore IV have joined the receiver corp, and this, paired with Daikiel Shorts Jr. taking over the WR, means something good is cooking on the horizon.

This gives Raiola multiple targets in the gridiron, and Holgorsen could end up doing one he-k of a job with so many options. But what about protection? If you can’t keep your QB safe in the pocket, then who the h-ll is going to make plays?

You will be seeing Justin Evans and Henry Lutovsky, back on duty in the trenches, so that is a breath of fresh air. But that aside, Rhule has to stack up his O-line with portal talent else those sack numbers and turnovers are going to keep on rising.