New offseason exercise again shows Patrick Mahomes’ importance

According to a new article on NFL.com, Kansas City’s quarterback is the best player to build a team around.

On Monday, NFL.com writer Tom Blair went through an interesting exercise: building the best full 53-man NFL roster that would fit under the league’s 2025 salary cap, based on this season’s cap figure for each player.

He limited himself to 24 players on their rookie contracts: no more than four first-round picks, four second-round selections, four third-round picks and up to a dozen players taken in Rounds 4 through 7. Players set to play on fifth-year rookie options this season (and undrafted players) were not counted in this group.

Only two Kansas City Chiefs — including running back Isiah Pacheco, chosen as RB3 behind Saquon Barkley and Bucky Irving — made Blair’s All-Cap Team. The other one topped the list.

Quarterbacks: $32.2 million total (11.6% of cap)

Patrick Mahomes · Kansas City Chiefs · $28.1 million
Bo Nix · Denver Broncos · $4.2 million

I could load up on all the star power I wanted elsewhere on the field, but this is the position that will determine the success of my roster. And while I admire the real-world savvy of teams that can calibrate the right supporting cast around a sensibly priced rookie or capable veteran, I didn’t have to play those games in the realm of make-believe.

With all $279.2 million of the cap at my disposal at this point, I could take anyone. In fact, I was tempted to build around Lamar Jackson ’s $43.5 million cap hit, just to play out my theory that it is possible to devote massive resources to a generational talent and still field a winning team.

I just couldn’t justify passing on one of the only QBs I’d take over Jackson in a start-from-scratch situation, especially when Patrick Mahomes is also a generational talent with a cap hit — ranked 14th at the position — that makes him, absurdly, a value choice. As for the backup spot, I didn’t want to settle for the kind of safe, replacement-level vet so many teams default to when I could earmark a measly $4.2 million for someone who could actually win games if needed. To me, using one of my four first-round slots on Bo Nix is eminently worthwhile if it means safeguarding this super-team against any bad luck with Mahomes.

Here are the other starters from Blair’s 53-man roster:

Offense

WR Justin Jefferson
WR Puka Nacua
WR Ladd McConkey
TE Brock Bowers
LT Jordan Mailata
LG Landon Dickerson
C Zach Frazier
RG Dominick Puni
RT Penei Sewell

Defense

EDGE Myles Garrett
EDGE Micah Parsons
IDL Jalen Carter
IDL Kobie Turner
LB Fred Warner
LB Zack Baun
CB Patrick Surtain II
CB Christian Benford
S Kyle Hamilton
S Kerby Joseph
NB...