Patrick Mahomes has become the quarterback everyone has always wanted to see in an Andy Reid offense. The Texas Tech product has a rifle for an arm, he can move the pocket or abandon it entirely, and he's just plain fun to watch. Nearly a quarter of the way through the NFL season, Mahomes is almost a consensus MVP front-runner, and it's well-earned.
Mahomes' football career hasn't always been spent as a quarterback, and it almost led to him giving up on the sport completely in high school. Mahomes played football at Whitehouse High School in Texas, where football is king. According to a profile on Mahomes from Sports Illustrated, his mom, Randi, said that Mahomes "nearly quit football the summer before his junior year of high school" because he "felt he didn't get a fair shot at the position he wanted, quarterback" after playing safety as a sophomore.
At the time, Mahomes' plan was to focus on basketball and baseball. He was drafted by the Detroit Tigers in the 37th round of the MLB Draft in 2014, and MaxPreps has tape on Mahomes' basketball days. All of this is to say: Mahomes' versatility isn't overstated, he really can do it all.
"It's his third sport, but if he focused on it, there's no doubt he could be a Division I basketball player," athletic director Richard Peacock told MaxPreps way back in 2013
Ultimately, the glitz of football in Texas apparently kept him on it.
"I think it had to do with the fans he had in football," his mom told Sports Illustrated. "You're in Texas -- everybody comes out to watch Friday night football. At first he liked football, but he didn't love it, and junior year he came to me and said he didn't think he was going to play anymore. They weren't letting him play quarterback. But in basketball they would do well, and nobody came to games. Baseball they would do well and no one came to games. In football the stands are full.
"He finally got to play quarterback and he got to lead, and he just fell in love."
Now, it's hard to imagine anyone is having more fun than Mahomes, who has led the Chiefs to a 4-0 record behind 1,200 yards passing, 14 touchdowns and no picks.
Mahomes will get his toughest test as a pro against the Jaguars this week. The Jaguars have the best defense in the NFL in both yards and points per game, while the Chiefs lead the league in points scored. The Chiefs are no strangers to hot starts. They started 5-0 last season before finishing first in the AFC West at 10-6 and losing in their wild-card game against the Titans. Mahomes, however, doesn't mind the pressure that winning brings.
"I don't feel that pressure, just because we've left so many plays out there," he told SI. "60-yard bombs that could've gone for touchdowns. Having the guys I have around me -- the offensive line is blocking their tail off, I have all these weapons at wide receiver and tight end, so I know I don't have to try to do too much. I just have to play within the system and let [Andy] Reid call the plays and execute."
With the likes of Kareem Hunt, Tyreek Hill, Sammy Watkins and Travis Kelce, there are certainly weapons to go around in KC. However, as always in the NFL, the quarterback Mahomes is the focal point at the moment.
