“They're the least hard-working players on the football team” - Charles Barkley on the role of quarterbacks like Josh Allen, Patrick Mahomes, and Tony Romo

Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes are two of the NFL's premier quarterbacks. In his day, Tony Romo was too. Most fans would agree that it takes a lot of hard work to become an elite quarterback and just as much, if not more, to stay at the top.

However, former NBA MVP Charles Barkley, who is now a jack-of-all-trades sports analyst, doesn't believe quarterbacks work that hard. On NFL Total Access, Barkley was asked how much he thinks football skills transfer into golf.

Here's how he responded:

"Oh no, they have nothing to do with each other. No, no, no. The quarterbacks, they’re like pitchers. They’re the least hard-working players on the football team."

Barkley went on to add that other players on a football team work much harder than any NFL quarterback. He even suggested that quarterbacks benefit from the rules, easing their workload:

"You know, offensive line, defensive line, those are the guys who really work hard. But the quarterback, they’re just pretty. Josh Allen’s pretty, Pat Mahomes, Romo, they don’t get hit that often, it’s like the NBA. You can’t touch them anymore."

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Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen are set to run the NFL for the foreseeable future

The list of the best quarterbacks in the NFL is subjective. The 'best' is difficult to quantify, even with advanced analytics and other metrics used to judge players.

However, two names that routinely find themselves at or near the top of the list are Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes.

Patrick Mahomes has already won MVP, Offensive Player of the Year, a Super Bowl, and been named to the Pro Bowl four times and an All-Pro once. There's no questioning that Mahomes is one of the best right now and might go down as an all-time great.

Josh Allen, comparatively, has not done as much, having just one Pro Bowl to his name. However, Allen has also had a meteoric rise and finds himself alongside Mahomes as one of the premier quarterbacks in football.

Look no further than their incredible duel in the AFC Divisional Round last year. The Kansas City Chiefs ended up defeating the Buffalo Bills 42-36 in overtime.

Josh Allen threw for 329 yards and four touchdowns, adding 68 yards on the ground. Mahomes threw for 378 yards and three touchdowns. He carried for 69 yards and a touchdown, too.

AFC Divisional Playoffs - Buffalo Bills v Kansas City Chiefs

In the final two minutes of the game, the Bills scored to take the lead. Within a minute, Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs took the lead back. With just 13 seconds left, Allen threw his fourth touchdown to give the Bills a three-point lead.

That was enough time for Patrick Mahomes to get down the field for a game-tying field goal. The Chiefs walked off in overtime following Mahomes' third touchdown pass.

If you use any of the above quotes, please credit NFL Total Access and H/T Sportskeeda