The hype train he came in with, as if we've never seen anything like him. People said and have been saying the exact same things they said about several QBs before him, so I didn't appreciate that...
I've said on here, I think it's obvious that barring injury, he's gonna finish somewhere on the GOAT board. But alot of GOATs careers arced differently, there's no telling how his career winds up. I'm not anointing him greatest ever based off of one ring...
Second, I think he's largely a product of circumstance. He got to sit for a year behind an accomplished guy like Alex Smith, starts his career off with Reid, has a track team at wideout, has a competent offensive line. As long as he was a decent QB like Smith, and to be clear, he's much greater than decent, but as long as he was average, he was in a position to win from the jump...
Watson was drafted into an organization that can't identify the power structure, can't build a competent offensive line to protect the future, has a shaky, though decent, head coach, can't build a competent running game, has a receiving corps not nearly as deep, etc. He's every bit as good as Mahomes, and arguably better, but Watson wasn't drafted with the luxury to sit and learn for a year. Circumstances...
Mahomes is great, but if he were in a different situation, while he would be talented still, would we give him all this "next big thing" praise? So that bothers me...