The Kansas City Chiefs moved up in the draft to select Patrick Mahomes, making him their quarterback of the future, and since Alex Smith adequately fills the position at the moment, Mahomes will get to progress without the added pressure or expectation of becoming the immediate starter. At least, that is the plan. How long will the transformation take? Did the Chiefs give up too much? Obviously, we do not know how long it will take for Mahomes to become the starter. We do know that the Chiefs gave up their 2018 first round pick along with their 2017 3rd round selection, but no one would think twice of giving up these two picks if doing so yielded the next Tom Brady or Peyton Manning, so no one can say definitively that the cost was too much. What else is left to do, then? Well, instead of trying to read the future, why not look at the game film evidence for reasons why the Chiefs made their decision to give up additional draft picks to select Mahomes?
The video clips are once again courtesy of draftbreakdown.com
Exhibit A: The rollout
2:37 – Mahomes rolls right and delivers a strike for a first down.
3:00 – Another rollout and nice throw.
Exhibit B: The pocket rocket
Extending plays and rolling out away from the pass rush is all well and good, but successful NFL quarterbacks must make throws from the pocket.
1:51 – This play is one of my favorites. Mahomes just “chills” in the pocket and then without much perceived effort, throws the ball from his 33 yard line to the opponents’ 30 for a completion.
Exhibit C: Throw it deeeeeep – the “Bread Basket” throw
1:24 – Deep sideline “go” route pass perfectly thrown by Mahomes.
Exhibit D: Under pressure off the back foot completion
4:51 – This throw displays real arm strength. The defender closes in on Mahomes, and he throws a strike off his back foot with the defender in his face.
Exhibit E: When everything else fails, use your legs to get it done.
8:22 – On 4th and 3, Mahomes eludes three defenders and gets the first down. This was a game-saving fourth down conversion.
9:41 – Overtime touchdown run.
After watching a few games of Mahomes throwing the ball, it’s easy to see why the Chiefs made their decision: Mahomes makes all of the required NFL throws with relative ease. Arm strength is definitely not a problem. Plus, he makes those throws on the run, backpedaling away from the rush, and rolling to his right or left. He extends plays with his legs, which adds another dimension to his game. To become a quality starter, though, he’ll have to improve his footwork and pocket presence, but wouldn’t a good NFL coach believe that those items are fixable; especially, with a “relaxed” timetable? Yeah, me too. I rest my case.
What do you think?
Categories: NFL
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