During his Wednesday press conference, Chiefs head coach Andy Reid discussed the team’s approach to trading up to land quarterback Patrick Mahomes in the 2017 NFL Draft because they’d identified him as the player they wanted running their offense in the future.
That plan could have been scrapped by another team that made the same read, but the first nine picks went down with Mahomes still on the board and the Chiefs got their man. Mahomes referenced that during a December game against the Bears when he counted to 10 with his fingers after throwing a touchdown pass.
While Mahomes might have liked to go higher, he said at his own Wednesday press conference that things couldn’t have turned out any better.
“I think I ended up in the perfect place,” Mahomes said.
Mahomes cited head coach Andy Reid and the rest of the coaching staff as part of the reason why it felt that way and credited then-starter Alex Smith with helping him develop during his rookie season. Mahomes also said being on a team that was already a winner allowed him to be himself, something that may not have been the case had he gone earlier in the draft to a team that didn’t have what he’s found in Kansas City.