Patrick Mahomes had some help before the make-or-break conversation with Andy Reid that ultimately got him drafted to the Kansas City Chiefs. Mahomes stopped by the “New Heights” podcast hosted by teammate Travis Kelce and his brother Jason, where he shared a key reason why he was selected and revealed that he had gotten some help from a Chiefs coach during the draft process.
Mahomes told the Kelce brothers that he had a meeting with the Chiefs’ head coach where they spent hours talking about plays. Fortunately for Mahomes, he had an edge, as former Chiefs offensive coordinator Matt Nagy told him which plays to study in advance.
Mahomes’ Big Reveal
"If y'all let me go 12 or below I'm gonna get drafted by someone else"
These @PatrickMahomes draft stories are mind-blowing 🤯
THE PATRICK MAHOMES EPISODE with @JasonKelce & @tkelce is out NOW: https://t.co/ZlYmHA5kwB pic.twitter.com/sOW0iLmA6I
— New Heights (@newheightshow) December 1, 2022
“I was at the facility,” Mahomes said. “We had the meetings, like the top 30 visits, so I was in there for like five hours. Matt Nagy, who was the offensive coordinator then, he really liked me, so he gave me the plays they were going to go over the night before. So, Coach Reid’s finding out now, on ‘New Heights.’ So, of course I crushed that meeting. I stayed up all night studying those plays.”
The assist from Nagy worked, as the Chiefs went on to pick the Texas Tech quarterback 10th overall in the 2017 draft. When Reid found out the truth about the tips his former assistant coach provided, he responded to the revelation.
Reid’s “Shock & Awe” Moment
Here is #Chiefs Andy Reid reacting to @ByNateTaylor's question about Mahomes and Nagy canoodling before the draft and @HerbieTeope's question about Justin Reid's comments this week.
Think this team is ready to play right now. pic.twitter.com/P1wNyKA6Tz
— PJ Green (@PJGreenTV) December 2, 2022
“Are you serious? Geez, I didn’t know that. Man, I would have never taken him,” Reid said jokingly to reporters.
During a press appearance on Thursday, the media asked Nagy if he gave Mahomes the help needed to seal the deal with the Chiefs.
“Yeah, maybe a little bit,” laughed Nagy. “It’s always a unique and fun process,” Nagy told reporters. “Every year, you’re prepping for different positions and different players, etc. It’s such a lengthy and grueling process. [But] I think it’s very safe to say there was a major consensus in our building of who we liked.
“I just know that Coach Reid and [then-personnel analyst and current general manager Brett] Veach and a lot of other people in that building really liked Patrick — including myself. Everybody has a process of what they go through. For us, we were able to go through some plays. Coach has a phenomenal process of evaluation of many different positions — but in particular, I think his process of evaluating quarterbacks is awesome— and that was just a part of the process.”
Nagy made it clear that other quarterbacks were up for consideration, but Mahomes was the one who stood out during Reid’s process for evaluating quarterbacks.
“I thought Patrick did a hell of a job on the test,” said Nagy. “Coach was giving him good questions on the plays — and Patrick? He knew what he was doing. It was impressive. I know how much they loved him [in the] pre-draft process,” said Nagy. “We were all so much into him — I mean, Coach and Veach and [then-general manager John Dorsey] Dorse — all of these guys.”
Nagy made the right bet. Mahomes was named the NFL MVP in his second year in the league and has been in the top echelon of NFL quarterbacks since entering the league.
