Mike Pennel urged the Kansas City Chiefs, and fans of the NFL in general, not to take Patrick Mahomes' greatness for granted.
Mahomes has led the Chiefs to four Super Bowl appearances since becoming the starting quarterback in 2018 and is one of just five in his position to win three or more Super Bowls as a starter.
The Chiefs have won the Lombardi Trophy in each of the past two seasons, with Kansas City targetting an unprecedented three-peat in 2024.
And Kansas City defensive tackle Pennel says Mahomes' importance to the Chiefs and the NFL as a while.
Pennel told Stats Perform: "He's very vital to our franchise. I think his play on the field speaks volumes for what type of player he is and how he prepares and how he works hard off the field to have that sustained success in every position.
"He's one of the greatest. He's going to be one of the greatest, and he's preparing himself to be that. He's not sulking in his own success or anything like that. He's still there every day, still does all the little things, even though he has all these accolades, he's still working every single day."
The 33-year-old believes Mahomes possesses many of the qualities that the greats of the sport had before him, and is a true inspiration for the younger players coming through.
He said: "When you have a guy like that on your team that takes no shortcuts, that makes it easy to be a role model for the younger guys, it's just, you're very fortunate. He's a rare guy. He's a lot of the likes of that Tom Brady, Joe Montana type of guy. So, it's a great advantage to have.
"You can't take his greatness for granted. I know as a defense, we're under 13 or less, we want to be a top-rated defense, a top 10 run, top 10 pass, just top 10 overall, so we can complement our team very well."
When asked about what sets Mahomes apart from the rest, Pennel stated his competitive edge and ability to perform on the biggest of stages, which has been integral to the Chiefs winning three of the last five Super Bowls.
He said: "It's his arm talent and he's very decisive. He's very confident in who he is and he goes about that approach every day, he's very, very competitive. I know he hates seeing the punt team out there.
"He feels like he can score on every drive and he wants to do that. So it's just, you know, that competitive edge in him, man, it's just something that's real different. That's gonna take him where he wants to be in this league. And that's why he's in those conversations now being one of the greatest."
When asked about opposing teams attempting to get under Mahomes' skin, Pennel added: "It's just motivation for him, I can't speak too much on why they would do that or why someone would do that or poke the bear, but it's going to make for a great game.
"I think it makes the game fun again, too.I miss the trash talking and going back and forth to how it used to be. It makes it a little fun, makes it a little different, makes the rivalry a little bit more intense. But he'll be excited to prove what he needs to prove on those games."