Success breeds contempt. The statement stands true for Patrick Mahomes who found himself on the 4 spot of the NFL top 100 list. A position and ranking that has sparked debates all across the NFL realm. And apparently, Colin Cowherd also joined the battle of opinions. He joined Nick Wright who expressed that Mahomes should be on the top of this list.

Patrick Mahomes not getting the top spot is just a classic case of players getting heat for being undefeatable like Tom Brady and LeBron James. At least, Colin Cowherd thinks so. “It [Mahomes’ situation] runs the same course that the Patriots did where Brady was called a system quarterback while collecting rings and they were always called less talented than the Ravens and so I do think in the NBA we tend to anoint in the media before they deserve it and in the NFL we’re more critical and cynical after you deserve it,” said the analyst on The Herd with Colin Cowherd

Despite Tom Brady’s 7x Super Bowl wins and his being a 5x MVP, people still didn’t refrain from calling him a system quarterback. The excuses range from the Deflate Gate conspiracy to Brady having Belichick as his coach to the Patriots arguably having the best defense in the league at the time. Complex did a piece on Brady and vilified him because of the system he had around him.

“Shout out to Tom Brady, though, the greatest trick he ever pulled was convincing you fools Aaron Rodgers doesn’t exist,” wrote Angel Diaz of Complex in 2017. That was about Brady who arguably cemented his legacy in NFL. Now, let’s shift our focus to the NBA parallel of Patrick Mahomes and Tom Brady’s situation. A similar storyline was followed with LeBron James as well.

Unlike NFL roughness, the NBA fans were bitter when it came to James. From making fun of his hairline to burning his jersey when he left the Cavaliers in 2010 for “the decision,” the player received brutal treatment from some fans. But that’s not the worst. Even after he helped the Lakers win a Championship in the 2019 season and became the first player to have 40k points, the fans did not seem satisfied.

While Cavaliers enthusiasts and Miami Heat fans hated the NBA professional for known reasons, the Lakers’ fanbase added fuel to this hostility because James helped Bronny James get a spot on the team. A similar heat has surrounded the 3x Super Bowl champion Mahomes as well. Earlier, it was Kermit the Frog mockery by the Raiders and now, many analysts have sided against Mahomes and revealed why he deserved the 4th spot. However, not everyone is buying on this contempt, Nick Wright being one of them!

Nick Wright bolstering Patrick Mahomes’ claim to fame

Since the Top 100 NFL Players list came out, Nick Wright had some serious disagreements. First, he opposed Aaron Rodgers’ admission, especially since the veteran QB did not exactly participate in the 2023 season. Wright argued that “the younger, healthier player on the team, with the better coaching staff and the more dynamic weapons” should be ranked higher than Aaron Rodgers.

Then, he took his disapproval a step further. For Wright the first berth on the list belonged to Patrick Mahomes. He clearly declared his stance through X as he tweeted, “This also means the top 3 is… Tyreek Hill (beat by Mahomes in Round 1) Lamar Jackson (beat by Mahomes in the AFCCG) Christian McCaffrey (beat by Mahomes in the Super Bowl)… Are all listed ahead of the 2x MVP, 3x SB Champion & 3x SB MVP.”

If that wasn’t enough of the support from Wright for the Super Bowl QB, Ja’Marr Chase’s refutation to take Mahomes’ name as No. 1 just probed the analyst to make some witty remarks. “How theoretically obvious was it that Mahomes was going to be #1? Well, the NFL’s current pinned tweet is a player on the list [Ja’Marr Chase] outright refusing to say the name of who will be #1 because he doesn’t want to say “Patrick Mahomes”. Instead, Mahomes missed the podium entirely!” Wright wrote in response to Chase’s viral video.

While many have argued that the 28-year-old QB is more impressive during the playoffs than the regular season and that justifies the ranking, it has still not stopped other professionals from calling out such stances. Nevertheless, despite the ranking, it is the upcoming season that will answer many questions. As Mahomes addressed, “It’s still early in the year. Stuff like that happens. It’ll get handled when it gets handled.” Do you think the Chiefs QB will be able to pull the critics toward his side? Share your thoughts in the comments!