Patrick Mahomes worked out for free for the whole world to see.
Seven years later, diehard football fans are all saying the same thing after footage resurfaced of Mahomes’ NFL Combine drills. Back in 2017, Mahomes was a talented but unproven quarterback out of Texas Tech. He had a ton to prove and was facing a lot of pre-draft doubt, with many predicting Mahomes wouldn’t be selected until late in the first round.
Mahomes throwing touchdown after touchdown to Travis Kelce, singing Taylor Swift songs and creating a dynasty with the Kansas City Chiefs couldn’t even be imagined. It’s easy to see why some critics weren’t blown away when watching Mahomes’ Combine footage.
But Mahomes’ 11,252 passing yards in college and almost 100 touchdowns were also overlooked, while some experts focused on players who would never reach the pros. “And all these scouts said, ‘Well, I don’t know … ‘ ” one fan tweeted. “Bust,” a second fan joked. “Jets (general manager) Mike Maccagnan couldn’t see what was right in front of his face,” a third fan posted.
Patrick Mahomes at the Combine in 2017 versus Kyler Murray in 2019. pic.twitter.com/2Pb8iLewvP
— Matt Derrick (@mattderrick) March 1, 2019
Another fan simply posted an emoji of a goat, referring to Mahomes being the greatest of all time. Mahomes wasn’t super fast and his adult body was still finding its form. As Mahomes ran his 40-yard dash on national TV, the name “Trevor Knight” was listed as having the fastest 40 time of the day.
Knight was athletically gifted but peaked in college and never played in the pros. “(Mahomes has) developed some bad habits and doesn’t have a very repeatable process as a passer ,” an NFL draft report read. “Mahomes’ ability to improvise and extend plays can lead to big plays for his offense. “But he will have to prove he can operate with better anticipation and be willing to take what the defense gives him in order to win from the pocket.”
The future Super Bowl MVP was fresh faced and highly doubted in 2017
Mahomes, 28, has won three Super Bowl MVPs and has become the new face of the NFL. He sat and watched for 15 games as a rookie with the Kansas City Chiefs. Then Mahomes made his NFL Combine workout a distant memory and started taking over the league. “A great arm. You just saw him slinging the ball around with no effort, making completions,” said Chiefs wide receiver Demarcus Robinson, describing Mahomes’ talent during the 2017 NFL preseason.
