Richard Sherman vs. Patrick Mahomes is the must-watch matchup of NFL Week 3

Richard Sherman entered the 2018 season with a lot of question marks. Once the premier cornerback in the NFL, Sherman joined the San Francisco 49ers after spending the first seven years of his career with the Seattle Seahawks. At 30 years old and coming off a ruptured Achilles, Sherman had some doubting his ability to return in time for the regular season, let alone in time to play at a high level.

But that’s exactly what he’s done so far this season.

Sherman has allowed just one catch with his new team, who are 1-1 going into a tough Week 3 matchup with the 2-0 Kansas City Chiefs. The San Francisco passing defense hasn’t been great, but Sherman has. His biggest challenge, however, will come when he’s covering Tyreek Hill and trying to contain Patrick Mahomes.

Mahomes, notably, is coming off the best start EVER for a quarterback. He’s throwing into every coverage and making big plays. Cornerbacks should fear him.

But Sherman has shown he’s still someone quarterbacks want to avoid, too:

Opposing quarterbacks are not even throwing to his side of the field:

The one reception Sherman allowed in coverage was an 18-yard pickup by Minnesota Vikings receiver Stefon Diggs. Other than that, he’s either covered his man too well or the two quarterbacks he’s faced so far aren’t targeting him. Those quarterbacks, by the way, also pretty dang effective at shredding defenses on a good day: Kirk Cousins and Matthew Stafford.

Stafford especially picked on Ahkello Witherspoon on the other side of the field. Witherspoon is a second-year corner with the size and length to model his game after Sherman’s. The 49ers have been high on him, and a big reason the team brought in Sherman was to mentor Witherspoon into being one the next great corners in the league.

Witherspoon had the worst game of his career against the Lions, allowing eight receptions and two touchdowns on 13 targets, all while getting penalized twice and benched in the fourth quarter. 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan later said he shouldn’t have played Witherspoon, who was dealing with an ankle injury. Witherspoon is expected to play against the Chiefs, but even if it’s Jimmie Ward getting the start instead, that probably won’t change much about how the Chiefs attack the 49ers defense and Sherman.

Through two games, Mahomes has been a gunslinger as advertised, with 582 yards, 10 touchdowns and no interceptions through two games. The Chiefs are averaging 40 points per game, the most in the league.

Hill, combined with Sammy Watkins and tight end Travis Kelce, lead the way in targets and catches from Mahomes. Hill in particular has been lethal. He has caught 12 of the 14 passes thrown his way and has three receiving touchdowns.

Sherman has faced the best receivers in the league before, but the bigger matchup here is Sherman vs. Mahomes. Will the young quarterback go after Sherman, who was dealing with a heel injury earlier in the week and should have a mobility disadvantage against someone as fast as Hill?

Sherman is well-known for being one of the smartest corners in the game, and his ability to break on the football in man coverage is legendary at this point. But while Sunday will provide a real test for Mahomes, Hill, and the Chiefs offense, it will also give the 49ers a better picture of where Sherman is.

If Mahomes avoids him like the quarterbacks before him, that’s a big sign that it’s not just Sherman’s presence, but his play, doing the work. Or, if Mahomes targets him and shreds him, that’s valuable information to have as well — just not the information 49ers would want.

With good reason, Mahomes has received a ton of attention this season, while Sherman hasn’t gotten as much as he used when he was a member of the Legion of Boom. On Sunday, going up against the NFL’s new star in the making, is the perfect opportunity for Sherman to get back in the spotlight.