Our staff writers look ahead three years to predict what we will be saying about this year’s draft class in 2020, starting with Patrick Mahomes.
The Kansas City Chiefs made some aggressive moves this year in the 2017 NFL Draft. Wait, scratch that… they were more aggressive than we’ve ever seen them before in terms of player acquisition. While free agency was a largely stagnant period, with more attention focused on players released than players signed, the draft was the exact opposite, with one trade after another to get the players on then-General Manager John Dorsey’s draft board.
In the end, 10 selections turned into a six-player draft class with as much boom or bust potential as anything seen in K.C. in years. From a franchise quarterback to the next (hopefully) great running back to a behemoth defensive lineman, there’s a lot of projection for this year’s draft class.
In an effort to look good (or stupid) three years from now, we decided to test our staff writers to see just how close we’ll come when we look back at how the players have done. This week, we’re unveiling our 2020 Predictions series, a survey of our writers to see what they believe we will be saying about each prospect three years from now. First up: Patrick Mahomes.
The Predictions:
By the year 2020, Patrick Mahomes will be known as an above average quarterback in the NFL, a player who has shown considerable promise along with the expected rookie (and beyond) mistakes that come from being a gutsy QB. The Chiefs have yet to make it farther in the playoffs than they did with Alex Smith at the helm, but there’s considerably more optimism knowing that the offense has greater overall firepower and that Mahomes is still developing within Andy Reid’s system. [Matt Conner]
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By the year 2020 Patrick Mahomes will be one of the most exciting young quarterbacks in the NFL. While he hasn’t put it all together yet, he has established himself as the clear-cut best QB from the 2017 draft. In his second year starting he’ll shatter Alex Smith’s career marks for yards, touchdowns, yards/attempt, but also interceptions. The combination of Mahomes with Travis Kelce and Tyreek Hill give Andy Reid as dynamic of passing attack as any in his career and one of the most feared in the NFL. [Lyle Graversen]
By 2020, Mahomes, Travis Kelce and Tyreek Hill’s career trajectory could be linked. With Hill’s speed and Mahomes arm strength, defenses will have to honor and defend the deep speed of Hill. Doing so will open underneath routes as for players like Kelce to operate. Opportunities to run the football could also open as safties will be unable to cheat up on run defense, knowing the Chiefs have the ability to go over the top and down the field. [John McCarty]
When Patrick Mahomes was drafted by Kansas City in 2017, Chiefs Kingdom was buzzing with excitement. It would be almost two years before Patrick Mahomes finally saw the field during the regular season. Mahomes showed us all that he was still the gunslinger that scouts fell in love with during the draft despite having to seriously rework some of his mechanics. His decision making continues to be suspect, but improving. Kansas City still loves Mahomes, as he has broken archaic passing records that were established the last time the Chiefs had a franchise quarterback in Len Dawson. [Thomas Welte]
In 2020, Patrick Mahomes will be thought off as a top ten quarterback in the NFL. People will be surprised that he isn’t as much of a gunslinger as was initially thought, but having Andy Reid as a coach will do that. He still picks his spots and has some throws that make you go “Nooo…..yes!”, but with the Chiefs offensive talent he doesn’t have to take chances the way he did in college. The team broke through and made it to the AFC Championship game for the first time since 1993, but the Super Bowl still eludes them. With the franchise quarterback securely in position, optimism is at an all-time high that it is only a matter of time before that dry spell will end soon. [Britt Zank]