INDIANAPOLIS — The Kansas City Chiefs are gambling their future on second-year quarterback Patrick Mahomes, and they sound thrilled about it.
The Chiefs are so excited about Patrick Mahomes
Kansas City has a plan for their second-year quarterback.
Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports
Chiefs general manager Brett Veach excitedly talked about Mahomes Thursday at the NFL Scouting Combine.
Mahomes made his first NFL start in Kansas City’s Week 17 game against the Denver Broncos. In a 27-24 win, Mahomes completed 62.9 percent of his passes for 284 yards and an interception. It was good showing for his first NFL start. For the Chiefs, it was all part of the team’s plan for the former 10th-overall pick in the draft.
“It was something I think we all expected,” Veach said. “From the day Pat stepped onto the field in rookie minicamps, the OTAs, training camps, he’s always wowed us. Now, he has a lot to learn yet. I think he grew tremendously. I think we knew when the Denver game rolled around that he would absolutely make plays.”
To help his transition to the NFL, the Chiefs incorporated some of the passing principles Mahomes used in Texas Tech’s wide open offense.
“Patrick comes from the system there at Tech and they do a great job offensively there of throwing the football,” Chiefs head coach Andy Reid said Wednesday. “We’ve incorporated a little bit of that stuff because Alex had done a little bit of that in college too. So we went back and we pulled some of that out for Alex. Once he had a chance to get in the offense for that Denver game, we kind of did the same thing there. We’ll just see how everything rolls down the road here.”
The Chiefs were so enamored with Mahomes that they’re trading veteran quarterback Alex Smith to Washington on March 14. Now Veach is tasked with adding pieces around Mahomes that accommodate his powerful arm.
Mahomes has one of the stronger arms in the NFL, and Veach knows he has to use speedy outside receivers to take advantage of it. That could also mean replacing free agent Albert Wilson.
“I think what you do is you find out where your strengths and weaknesses are and build around certain attributes players have,” Veach said. “Pat’s skill set is a little bit different from Alex’s, and maybe the players you surround him with work closer to his skill set. He’s an exciting player and has a long way to go. But I think it will be fun surrounding him with talent.”
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