Patrick Mahomes is perhaps the biggest and most respected name in the NFL these days, having won the Super Bowl three times as the quarterback for the Kansas City Chiefs.
Incredibly, though, he was not even on Chiefs coach Andy Reid‘s top 50 draft list to start with. Things could have been incredibly different for both the Chiefs and Mahomes.
Patrick Mahomes clowns Chiefs QB for awkward fall at training camp
Chiefs General Manager Brett Veach recently shared some previously unknown details about Mahomes‘ wild draft journey.
“I remember probably early January coach called me to his office,” Veach revealed in a DraftKings YouTube video. “He had a mock draft printed up and he had like the first 50 picks and Mahomes wasn’t even on it.”
Veach‘s response? “No he’s coming out and I’m sure by the end of the day teams will probably have him as a first rounder.”
Veach stands by Mahomes in 2017
This was for the 2017 NFL Draft and it shows that there was a lot of talent to choose from and coaches had to make some quick and tough decisions.
Veach became the man at the Chiefs who was really batting for Mahomes. According to Chris Cabott, Mahomes‘ agent, Veach contacted him “at least once… for 94 consecutive days” leading up to the draft.
Veach explained their strategy: “I think a lot of us thought that Arizona and New Orleans were two teams that could go quarterback… they were sitting at 11 and 12.” The Chiefs needed to leapfrog these potential suitors.
When the Chiefs secured the 10th pick, Cabott told the Chicago Tribunal: “I about jumped out of my skin. I just kept saying, ‘We got it done!'”
Veach described the scene: “When the names are coming off, you’re sitting there staring… you keep hitting refresh refresh refresh to see what the teams are doing.”
