This Man, Mahomes: A Star is Born

“With the 10th pick in the 2017 NFL Draft, the Kansas City Chiefs select Patrick Mahomes.” – Roger Goodell

In the 2017 NFL draft, the Chiefs drafted a man by the name of Patrick Mahomes in the first round as the 10th overall pick out of Texas Tech.

Born in September 1995 as the son of a former major league baseball pitcher Patrick Mahomes Sr., Mahomes Jr. was a natural athlete. His father was a pitcher in Major League Baseball which already had a big place in his heart, but there was something he saw about football that drove him to be a quarterback.

“One of Mahomes’ most cherished childhood memories was receiving his first football jersey: a Michael Vick Atlanta Falcons jersey. This jersey symbolized more than just fandom; it presented the qualities Mahomes aspired to emulate on the field – speed, agility, and an unorthodox playing style that kept defenses guessing.” – Nyden Kovatchev, Sport Displays

He excelled at football, basketball, and baseball in high school, once throwing a no-hitter while striking out 16 batters in a game. In 2013-14 he was named the MaxPreps Male Athlete of the Year.

His high school athletic director Richard Peacock at Whitehouse in Texas knew there was something special in the young Mahomes. “In 38 years in the business, I’ve seen a lot of great athletes. But he’s as good as I’ve EVER seen. What he’s accomplished with football, basketball, and baseball is amazing, but honestly what’s even more amazing might be what a great young man he is… It’s hard to separate what’s more impressive, his athletic ability or character.”

Most baseball scouts even saw him as a top prospect for the 2014 Major League Baseball draft during his senior year, but he stayed committed to going to college at Texas Tech.

“I really think he’s just scratching the surface (at quarterback) with the time he played different sports throughout the year," Texas Tech Football Coach Kliff Kingsbury told Sports Illustrated. “When he really focuses on football the majority of the time, I think you’re really going to see him take off in that position.”

During his years in college, he set a single-game NCAA record by throwing for 734 passing yards against the University of Oklahoma and set another NCAA record that same game with 819 total offensive yards. Most experts thought that he was going to be drafted in the first or second round but kept their expectations in check.

“He has the best arm of the group, but he plays crazy,” one scout told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel during the draft process. “I don’t even think ‘gunslinger’ is the right word. He’s reckless… I remember seeing Brett Favre in his bowl game his senior year. In that game he had three or four plays you thought were a little off the wall. Mahomes might have 20 plays in a game where you go, ‘What are you doing?’”

Coming out of college, Mahomes tended to be wild with some of his throws and even some of his runs, and football had not seen a player like that too often before that was able to show consistent success.

But the Chiefs were willing to give him a shot, offering the 21-year-old a guaranteed four-year contract worth 16.42 million dollars, with a 10 million signing bonus. He was the backup quarterback in his first season in 2017 behind Alex Smith, and while the Chiefs made the playoffs, they were bounced in the first round.

After that, the team traded Alex Smith and called upon Mahomes as their top guy for the 2018 season.

What was about to unfold was a true roller coaster ride for Chiefs Kingdom.