Do Chiefs consider Patrick Mahomes in NFL Draft?

Weaknesses

While he can make any throw on the field, his arm gets him in trouble because he will try to make any throw on the field. You see Mahomes make some throws and decisions that just leave you dumbfounded as to what he’s doing.

The athleticism, while his legs can help keep plays alive, that aforementioned confidence with the athleticism will lead to plays on film that appear awful reminiscent of family thanksgiving football, with someone running around behind the line of scrimmage waiting for someone to get open. Backyard style quarterbacking rarely works in today’s NFL.

The system the Red Raiders ran, the wide open spread attack, while shares some base similarities to the Chiefs offense, can force defenses into showing blitzes/coverages early or forcing defenses into base level systems. Learning to read defenses, work through progressions and working from under center will all be traits Mahomes will have to develop and work on before any team could rely on him to be an effective quarterback.

Lastly, the biggest issue with Mahomes could come down to how he’s been programmed at Texas Tech. Their offensive line, at least in my opinion, appeared to be awful. The defense left a lot to be desired and often aided the Red Raiders offense stats, as Mahomes and company were forced into a touchdown on every possession mind set, which may explain why Mahomes was willing to take the chances with the football you see him take on film.

He’ll need at least in my opinion, a full season of not being hit when he passes to learn to be comfortable in the pocket, to value ball possession and field position, to understand that he’s not going to throw a touchdown on every snap.

I will note, some people will look at his mechanics as needing work, which to a degree is true of any quarterback in any draft. However, he has learned to be successful with his mechanical quirks and there’s only so much you can do to a players throwing motion before you do more damage then anything else.

NFL comparison

Best Hope: Phillip Rivers, San Diego Chargers

Worst Outcome: Johnny Manizel (On field)

You see a similar mindset to Rivers when he was coming out of North Carolina State, the arm and aggressiveness. Coming out, Rivers had mobility but greatly preferred to throw the ball as opposed to tote it himself. His mechanics were also somewhat criticized though Rivers has had a great deal of success in San Diego with a bad roster.

With his cavalier, gunslinger approach to the position combined with his running around in the pocket, his play at times will look like Manziel coming out. I’m not comparing Mahomes to Manziel off the field, but, in my opinion, there is some concern about his ability to effectively work within a controlled, precise offense the Chiefs run.