Originally posted by miked1978:
You'd be dumb not to take Mahomes now but at the time of the draft he wasn't considered a top 5 pick. KC shocked everyone when they moved up to 10 (?) to get him. Most people had Mahomes going at the end of the 1st round.
Thomas was the clear cut favorite at #3. J Adams and M Hooker both were rated high but I don't think a safety has ever been taken that high in the draft before.
KC didn't shock me or many others. I advocated for taking him at #2 (check the thread), and several other posters here did, too. A handful of talent evaluators had him as a top-tier guy, too. The problem is that groupthink takes over when a bunch of guys with large platforms and big voices all start to say the same thing because they have reputations to protect. Mahomes always had the arm and gunslinger disposition of a Brett Farve, and he consistently made plays behind a dog piss OL while playing from behind because TT doesn't play defense. In addition to his Farve-like qualities, he had a dogged work ethic in th film room and a calm confidence that may have developed in his childhood spent in MLB clubhouses.
The offense he came from was too unorthodox for Kyle's comfort, IMO. He stated how Beathard's experience in Iowa's pro-style system was a major factor in drafting him. I would have hoped that Kyle would regard himself as a good enough teacher to get Mahomes up to speed in the scheme with a year to watch and learn, and that he could adapt the scheme to incorporate route packages and reads that Mahomes thrived with in TT.
The kid is amazing, and he did damn near everything he's doing now while at TT. His footwork is still bad, but so is Jimmy's a lot of the time. IMO, Mahomes will be the best QB in football within 3 years, and he'll stay there for another 10 years. He's already the most fun, most exiting QB to watch. Huge miss, imo, which only feels worse because Thomas has been such a disappointment so far.
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