For all of Patrick Mahomes’ success with the Kansas City Chiefs, it can be easy to forget that the soon-to-be 30-year-old quarterback was once a backup struggling to learn the position behind starter Alex Smith.
Drafted 10th overall out of Texas Tech in 2017, Mahomes arrived in Kansas City with experience in then-Texas Tech head coach Kliff Kingsbury’s spread offense, but still lacked some basic fundamentals.
‘He was yelling his first play into the huddle,’ Chiefs offensive coordinator Matt Nagy remembered, as quoted by ESPN. ‘The defense could hear the play. We had to tell him to chill out.’
Since then, Mahomes has guided the Chiefs to five Super Bowls, winning three, all while making teammates forget about the clumsy, overexcited rookie he once was.
Asked about Mahomes’ growth, running Kareem Hunt explained that the Chiefs signal caller is a significantly better player now than when they first played together in 2017.
‘Just how much he knows the system now and just seeing how he’s able to recognize defenses and call the plays on the fly if he needs to,’ Hunt told ESPN. ‘He’s grown a lot in that aspect.’
Quarterback Patrick Mahomes #15 of the Kansas City Chiefs speaks to the media during the press conference interviews after the Kansas City Chiefs OTAs in May
Mahomes reacts after throwing an interception that was later reversed in a preseason game
Mahomes believes his growth reflects a better knowledge of himself and how he responds physically to the punishment of a 17-game season.
‘More than anything I have a better understanding of my body,” Mahomes said. ‘I know the extra amount of recovery stuff I need to do, how to feel my best on a day-to-day basis.
‘Obviously I probably bounced back a little bit quicker when I was younger but at the same time, I have a better plan and a better standard that I hold myself to on a day-to-day basis so I can be ready for every single practice.’
Statistically, Mahomes is coming off a slight down year after pᴀssing for just 3,928 yards – his lowest output as a starter – and 11 interceptions, which was more than all but 11 pᴀssers in 2024.
Still, he once again led the Chiefs to the Super Bowl, and although Kansas City fell to Philadelphia, Mahomes once again enters the season as one of the favorites to lift the Lombardi Trophy at season’s end.
Chiefs camp will start Monday at Missouri Western State University in St. Joseph.
