Patrick Mahomes was there for the taking in the NFL Draft.
Eight years later, diehard football fans are still saying the same thing after footage resurfaced of Mahomes’ NFL Combine.
Back in 2017, Mahomes was a talented but unproven quarterback out of Texas Tech.
The high school baseball player was facing a lot of pre-draft doubt, with many predicting Mahomes wouldn’t be selected until late in the first round.
Mahomes throwing touchdown after touchdown to Travis Kelce, singing Taylor Swift songs and creating a dynasty with the Kansas City Chiefs couldn’t even be imagined.
It’s easy to see why some critics weren’t blown away when watching Mahomes’ combine footage — especially in a 40-yard dash that nearly took 5 seconds.
But Mahomes’ 11,252 passing yards in college and almost 100 touchdowns were also overlooked, while some experts focused on players who would never reach the pros.
“All these scouts said, ‘Well, I don’t know … ‘ ” one fan tweeted.
“Bust,” a second fan joked.
“Jets (general manager) Mike Maccagnan couldn’t see what was right in front of his face,” a third fan posted.
Another fan simply posted an emoji of a goat, referring to Mahomes being the greatest of all time.
Mahomes wasn’t super fast and his adult ‘dad’ bod was still finding its form.
x@nflThe future Super Bowl MVP was fresh faced and highly doubted in 2017[/caption]
x@nflMahomes threw in almost empty stands and was seen as a draft risk[/caption]
x@nflRunning the 40-yard dash wasn’t Mahomes’ best performance[/caption]
As Mahomes ran his 40-yard dash on national TV, the name “Trevor Knight” was listed as having the fastest 40 time of the day.
Knight was athletically gifted but peaked in college and never played in the pros.
“(Mahomes has) developed some bad habits and doesn’t have a very repeatable process as a passer,” an NFL draft report read. “Mahomes’ ability to improvise and extend plays can lead to big plays for his offense.
“But he will have to prove he can operate with better anticipation and be willing to take what the defense gives him in order to win from the pocket.”
Mahomes, 29, has won three Super Bowl MVPs and has become one of the new faces of the NFL.
He sat and watched for 15 games as a rookie with the Kansas City Chiefs.
Then Mahomes made his NFL Combine workout a distant memory and started taking over the league.
“A great arm. You just saw him slinging the ball around with no effort, making completions,” said Chiefs wide receiver Demarcus Robinson, describing Mahomes’ talent during the 2017 NFL preseason.
A frustrating blowout loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LIX dented Mahomes’ historic rise.
The Chiefs QB went 15-2 during the regular season, but trailed Philly 34-0 in New Orleans and were humbled on the big stage.
“I feel like I didn’t play to my standard, especially the struggles that I had early in the season,” Mahomes exclusively told talkSPORT.
“There’s things that I have to get better at, and they kind of showed today on the biggest stage.”
But it’s obvious eight years later that the NFL missed on Mahomes at the Combine.
While top prospect Shedeur Sanders waits for the draft, Showtime Mahomes will surely be on a revenge tour in 2025 as the Chiefs attempt to add another championship ring to their collection.
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