Exclusive: Mitch Morse Reveals What Makes Josh Allen, Patrick Mahomes So Great
*Mitch Morse lines up at center in 2021 for the Buffalo Bills before taking on the Washington Commanders. Credit: Wikimedia Commons
Key quotes:
- On Josh Allen chasing a first Super Bowl: “I don't think it's a matter of if, but rather when.”
- Working with Patrick Mahomes: “Pat was a great kick-a** dude. We just heard the lore of what Pat was doing against the opposing team, or our starting defense in practice.”
- On the Jacksonville Jaguars: “I don't think the offensive line was as much of a problem as folks said.”
In the NFL, the quarterback is usually the most important player on the field, and right now, two of the best players at this position in the pros are Josh Allen of the Buffalo Bills and Patrick Mahomes of the Kansas City Chiefs.
For years, Allen and Mahomes have been duking it out atop the AFC, and while the latter has prevailed for the most part, you can make an argument that the Bills’ gunslinger is currently the better all-around player.
One guy who got to spend time with both Allen and Mahomes is former Pro Bowl offensive lineman Mitch Morse. While he never managed to win a championship during his career, Morse got to witness the rise of two of the best quarterbacks in the league, and he knew right away that both of these guys were going to be very special players.
“Pat was a great kick-a** dude,” Morse said in an exclusive interview with casino.us. “We loved him, and you can see him slicing and dicing during practice … We just heard the lore of what Pat was doing against the opposing team, or our starting defense in practice.”
“(With Allen), you saw the guy had the ‘it’ factor and that he had so much potential and that he was on the cusp of kind of figuring this thing out … It was another circumstance where I was just in the right place at the right time. I was riding coattails of players and coaches that I did not deserve. It was so cool to see.”
While we all know that Allen and Mahomes are superstars now, they didn’t immediately enter the league as the best players at their position. They gradually turned themselves into the superstars they are now, which is something Morse got to witness firsthand. And while he played with a lot of different quarterbacks, there was one thing in particular that stood out to him when he took the field with these two guys.
“When they step into a huddle … they walk in with the most calm demeanor,” Morse revealed. “They'll look at each position in the huddle when they're saying these long play calls. And you can just tell that they have command of what's going on, command of the moment … When these moments and the stakes are at their highest, they play their best football.”
There’s no doubt that, when it comes to their on-field performance, Allen and Mahomes are the best of the best. But there’s also an off-field component to the game of football that can’t be quantified by a single counting stat. With that being said, Morse also shared that these two studs made an effort to get to know all of their teammates, regardless of how important or unimportant they were to the team.
“They both have the ability to go into a locker room and build relationships with every single person,” Morse said. “When they walk into a building, they're another dude … That's such a special quality. And when those moments come, when the stakes are at their highest, you want to go to war with those dudes because you know that they care about you.”
Jaguars Offensive Line is Not a Problem Heading Into 2026
After playing for both the Bills and Chiefs, Morse spent the final year of his career in 2024 with the Jacksonville Jaguars. While there, he played with another young star quarterback, Trevor Lawrence, who just led his team to an impressive 13-win campaign in 2025. Despite entering the NFL as a top-tier quarterback prospect, though, Lawrence hasn’t consistently experienced the same sort of success as Allen and Mahomes.
Many folks believe that Jacksonville’s offensive line has been a recurring issue for the team, as it has been unable to consistently protect him. Having watched the unit last season, though, Morse doesn’t think it’s the Jaguars’ biggest issue. In fact, with all five starters returning in 2026, he thinks this could ultimately become a strength for the team moving forward.
“I don't think the offensive line was as much of a problem as folks said,” Morse admitted. “If you look at pressure percentages and stuff, they were in the bottom of the league, and sack percentages were in the middle … You're returning all starting five offensive linemen.
“I guess the only question you have is, what do you do with Walker Little, who's a really good guard in my opinion … It's a fascinating team, but I doubt that the offensive line is the most of their worries.”
The Jags don’t seem too concerned with the state of their o-line, as they only used one of their 10 draft picks on this spot.
That was likely because, after the first round, there was a perceived dropoff in talent at this position. In recent years, teams have become more aggressive when trying to find offensive linemen, particularly tackles, in the draft, and Morse explained why, if Jacksonville wants to make upgrades here in the future, the draft is the way to go.
“There's certain positions you can address in free agency, but rarely do you find a stalwart tackle in free agency,” Morse opined. “What you see is these guys spend early on this draft capital and try to strike gold with these guys and then grow them through the system … If you have a good grade on an offensive tackle, it's not a wasted draft pick.”
Divisive Mansoor Delane Trade Receives High Praise -- ‘He’s Disruptive’
In the 2026 NFL Draft, the Chiefs turned heads for their decision to trade up to the No. 6 overall pick to select LSU Tigers cornerback Mansoor Delane. While some folks have made it known they aren’t fans of this move, Morse is on the opposite side of the spectrum, especially after K.C. traded Trent McDuffie and lost Jaylen Watson in free agency.
“You watch the film on (Delane), I don't know much about cornerback play, I didn't play the secondary, but I know this dude is a good football player,” Morse said. “And you know that by, even if he's not covering the guy, he's around the ball.
“He's disruptive in all facets of the game … If you can bolster your defense as much as you can, that's going to bode well in my opinion. I think it was a great play.”
Kansas City has been busy this offseason as it rebuilds its roster in an attempt to get back to the playoffs in 2026.
Another one of the more important moves saw the team re-sign star tight end Travis Kelce, who is putting off retirement for at least one more season. Kelce is another player Morse spent a lot of time with, and he had nothing but nice things to say about the future Hall of Famer.
“What is so great about Trav is he's the ultimate teammate,” Morse shared. “And you see it even exacerbated now that he's put on this pedestal and thrust into the limelight.
“The man has not changed an ounce. He loves his teammates. He's great at everything he does off the field, but when he's in the building, football trumps all. He is the man.”
Did the Bills Make a Mistake in the 2026 NFL Draft?
While Kansas City made a pair of first-round selections in the draft this year, Buffalo ended up trading back several times, to the point where it moved out of the first round entirely. It’s understandable that fans wanted to see the team add a blue-chip prospect, but Morse thinks that the ability to add as much draft capital as the Bills’ front office did was a massive win.
“You see Super Bowl teams, and you see sustainable teams. They want to win now, but they want to continue to have sustainable success,” Morse stated.
“And how you do that is you draft, you get as much capital as you can, and then you grow these players into contributors early on, especially with the amount of money that they're spending at the quarterback position.”
Everything the Bills are doing is geared towards winning a Super Bowl. Allen’s playoff track record at this point isn’t great, but he still has a lot of time to reach the top of the proverbial mountain in the NFL. And while there’s been a lot of change in Buffalo this offseason, Morse feels that Allen will inevitably win that elusive Super Bowl championship. “I don't think it's a matter of if, but rather when.”