Are Dylan Raiola and Patrick Mahomes related? Exploring the origins of the relation speculation

It's been noted that Kansas City Chiefs star Patrick Mahomes and Nebraska Cornhuskers signal-caller Dylan Raiola are each other's doppelgangers. However, it's nothing more than that. Despite some online speculation, the quarterbacks aren't related.

Some rumors were generated due to a tweet by former Kansas City Chiefs and current Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill in which he pointed out the players' similar looks.

Mahomes himself replied to the tweet:

"That’s my lil cuzzo."

While the line was a throwaway joke, it certainly caused some confusion among fans who thought Mahomes and Raiola were related.

But it isn't just pure coincidence, Dylan Raiola appears to know he looks like Mahomes and is trying to capitalize on it. Cornhuskers fans rightly pointed out that it seems that Raiola made a conscious effort of arriving at Nebraska's training camp making his best effort to mimic Mahomes's looks.

It was the reactions to his arrival, and his very Patrick Mahomes-like look, that blew up X and caught the attention of Mahomes's former teammate Tyreek Hill.

The rabbit hole doesn't end there, as Raiola's trainer was also Mahomes personal quarterback coach.

To make matters more bizarre, they're both 6-foot-e, and while Raiola weighs 230 pounds is not the same as Mahomes' 215 pounds while at Texas Tech, it's not far off, either.

Will Dylan Raiola be the starter for Nebraska in 2024?

Nebraska entered the preseason football camp with a definite competition in its quarterback room. With Jeff Sims leaving Nebraska for Arizona State after losing the starting role midway through the 2023 season, there were always going to be questions regarding who was going to be the starting signal-caller for the Cornhuskers in 2023.

Initially, it would seem that the answer would've been Heinrich Haarberg, but the entrance into the scene of five-star quarterback Dylan Raiola put that into doubt.

While it's uncommon for a program to give a true freshman the reins of an offense, Raiola's status as the second-overall quarterback prospect of the class of 2024, has certainly given him a shot. And it seems that he will be the pick of Nebraka's coach Matt Rhule.

When asked recently on Andy Staples' On3 podcast regarding the chances of Dylan Raiola to become the Cornhuskers starter, Cornhuskers reporter and beat writer Sean Callahan said:

“Rhule has not said it, but it’s very obvious to anybody that’s around the program. They’ll put out a depth chart, is my guess. They’ll have one more week of training camp, and it wouldn’t surprise me if after this week, if they kind of define things a little clearer.”

He added that Haarberg would make for a good backup option to Dylan Raiola:

“Heinrich Haarberg was last year’s starter. He took over, and he won all five of Nebraska’s games for them. That’s a good backup to have in there. He’s athletic enough to do other things, too. If they wanted Heinrich Haarberg to be a wildcat or take on some other roles, he has the ability to do those things, too"

Nebraska opens its season on Aug. 31 against UTEP at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Nebraska. The Cornhuskers' first Big Ten encounter is in Week 4 against the Illinois Fighting Illini. However, they face a Power Five opponent in Week 2 in the form of the Colorado Buffaloes.