Fans may be seeing a new-look Patrick Mahomes and Chiefs offense this season. 

According to The Athletic’s Jesse Newell, Mahomes has been getting more reps under-center at practice compared to previous years. 

While the Chiefs have usually been a shotgun-heavy offense — meaning Mahomes would stand five to seven yards behind the center and receive the snap — they’ve experimented with a new formation early in camp. 

In contrast to standing several yards back, Mahomes has been standing directly behind the center in an under-center formation as he comes back from tearing his ACL in Week 15 last season.

Though it remains to be seen whether the Chiefs will stay in this formation as the season looms, the addition of running back Kenneth Walker III could potentially prompt a shift. 

Chiefs general manager Brett Veach also hinted that the team may look to rely more on a downhill run game to become more explosive.

The possible offensive shift isn’t incredibly surprising, as the Chiefs had just one 20-plus-yard rush by a running back last season. 

The Chiefs’ leading rusher, Kareem Hunt, had just 611 rushing yards on 3.7 yards per carry, while Isiah Pacheco had only 462. 

Kansas City could look to establish a new offensive identity under offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy, who was the team’s OC from 2018-22, when their offense was predicated more on explosive plays. 

Or perhaps the Chiefs’ new offensive formation could just be in place to help aid Mahomes during his recovery. 

Despite suffering the injury just eight months ago, Mahomes was fully cleared to participate in training camp, and he’ll look to build on an already Hall of Fame-caliber resume this season. 

Mahomes has already established himself as an NFL legend with three Super Bowl wins and Super Bowl MVPs, two regular-season MVP and six Pro Bowl selections.

Through nine years with the Chiefs, Mahomes has thrown for 35,939 yards with 267 touchdowns and just 85 interceptions.