For about nine months, Patrick Ma-homes diligently went about his business as the Chiefs backup quarterback, working to improve at his craft while not ruffling any feathers.
Teammates praised his gun-slinging mentality and practice performance, which turned out to be an indication of what he could do in prime-time. His lone appearance of the 2017 season produced a win over Denver in the Chiefs regular-season finale.
But when an agreement was reached with Washington to ship out the man in front of him, veteran Alex Smith, all eyes fell on the new, 22-year-old triggerman in coach Andy Reids offense.
Its a responsibility Mahomes, the son of a pro baseball player, has taken seriously. Over the last several weeks and before the start of the Chiefs offseason workout program on Monday he has been taking a group of his skill-position teammates to nearby high school fields and working on various passing concepts.
There are great high schools around and I talked to some of the coaches and they let us use their fields, so we got to go out there, Mahomes said. And I would have at least four to five guys a day.
I think I threw to at least every single guy at least once we had group messages going. I had one with the tight ends, I had one with the running backs, I had one with the receivers, making sure everybody knew when I was throwing.
Even established stars like tight end Travis Kelce and running back Kareem Hunt showed up.
When they came back in town, wed get some work in, Ma-homes said. That just shows how much work ethic (they have) and how those guys want to be great.
It was easy to get those guys out there.
The skill players motivation to work out with Mahomes wasnt completely altruistic. Some quarterbacks dont play favorites at all; they spread the ball around to the open man, no matter what.
Others, like Mahomes and Smith and even the great Tom Brady, get comfortable with their guys and look for them more often. Face time with the quarterback can foster on-field rapport, which can lead to better stats, which ultimately leads to more money.
I tried to simulate it as if there was a defense out there, Mahomes said. I would give the routes and then I would give them based off of certain coverage, because we run them differently compared to in the game when you have to adjust on the fly. I would say single safety middle zone or cover two and try to let the receivers run the routes how they would run it versus that so we can build timing and things like that.
This exercise also challenges Mahomes, because he cant be credibly ordering guys around without knowing their responsibilities, too.
It helps me get a better understanding of what theyre thinking, Mahomes said.
Mahomes has already earned a reputation with the Chiefs as someone who isnt afraid to set the tone and challenge teammates verbally. In fact, that attracted the Chiefs to him in the first place last year, when they surrendered a cadre of picks to move up 17 spots and select him in the first round of the NFL draft.
