Patrick Mahomes is arguably the best quarterback on the planet.
The two-time NFL MVP has led his Kansas City Chiefs to two Super Bowl victories thanks, in large part, to his mind-boggling passing ability that borders on otherworldly. Mahomes can pull off throws other quarterbacks would only dream of attempting, and he does so with regularity.
We're still wondering how Mahomes makes these throws look routine.@Tostitos | #ChiefsKingdom pic.twitter.com/yhAVZuE4ys
— Kansas City Chiefs (@Chiefs) December 8, 2020
But how?
Mahomes' personal trainer, Bobby Stroupe, broke down the "physiological" explanation for the 27-year-old's exceptional passes during an episode of the Netflix docu-series "Quarterbacks."
The founder of Athlete Performance Enhancement Center (APEC), Stroupe has worked with Mahomes since he was a kid living in Texas. And, at the superstar's urging, moved to Kansas City to work as Mahomes' full-time trainer after the Chiefs drafted him in 2017.
Stroupe says a quarterback's vision as well as their neck and spine mobility are crucial factors determining their ability to complete "off-platform" passes: sidearm slings, no-look passes, cross-body throws, and anything else that doesn't resemble the traditional mechanics of quarterbacks past.
"There are quarterbacks that, when they're rolling right, they can't turn their head, and some that can," Stroupe said. "The same athlete, maybe when they roll left, they can."
There are many quarterbacks that have deficits going both ways, he added. And on the flip side, there are very few who have little to no deficits at all.
Mahomes falls in that latter category.
"Patrick can keep his head perfectly still, like an owl, and still be able to visually see what's going on," Stroupe said. "And also manipulate his body due to the mobility that he has in his spine."
Mahomes boasts impressive strength and speed in his spine in addition to remarkable flexibility across both sides of his body; when he swings a bat at full-speed, there's extraordinarily little drop-off whether he's rotating to his left or his right.
He also enjoys unparalleled hip-shoulder separation, which Stroupe calls "the best that I've seen, and I've worked with some of the hardest throwers in baseball and at the quarterback position."
A good portion of Stroupe's work with Mahomes focuses on heightening those inherent abilities. They target his core through a variety of twisting exercises, using medicine balls, cable machines, and other types of gym equipment to maximize his rotational quickness and power.
ICYMI ⛓️ pic.twitter.com/6adP0NvkXw
— Bobby Stroupe (@bobbystroupe) March 4, 2023
Mahomes seems to unlock a new way to move and pass each Sunday (or Monday or Thursday, depending on the week). And that's exactly what he and Stroupe are working towards.
"I look at these 'off-platform' throws as really 'How many ways can you move to solve a problem?'" Stroupe says.
