- Mahomes made several impressive throws, including an 80-yard Hail Mary to conclude the workout.
- Wes Welker, who is now a receivers coach with the San Francisco 49ers, said scouts began applauding Mahomes in an unprecedented move when the workout finished.
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Patrick Mahomes put on a show at his pro day before the 2017 NFL draft.
Patrick Mahomes gave a hint that he could take over the NFL at his Texas Tech pro day before the 2017 NFL Draft.
Mahomes, who played in an Air Raid offense in college that was not thought to translate to the NFL, was considered a first-round pick by the time the draft came but was not considered one of the elite quarterback prospects.
However, at his pro day, he reportedly wowed scouts with a series of throws, including an 80-yard Hail Mary that served as the grand finale.
Wes Welker, now a receivers coach with the San Francisco 49ers, was in attendance for Mahomes' pro day, at the time working with the Houston Texans. He told Sports Illustrated's Michael Rosenberg that when Mahomes' workout ended, scouts applauded. Welker, who was new to coaching, had to ask if that was normal. A scout told him it was not.
"At the end of it, everybody was applauding," Welker told Rosenberg. "I was like, 'Man, do people normally applaud at a pro day?' One of the scouts was like, 'I've been a scout for 30-plus years. I've never seen everybody applaud after a workout.' And it was just scouts."
An NFL Network report at the time said that Mahomes impressed scouts in attendance by making throws some quarterbacks shy away from, like throwing between a cornerback and safety and 20-yard come-back routes.
The cherry on top was the deep throw. NFL Network's Chase Goodbread reported at the time that most scouts judge arm strength by velocity, not distance, but that Mahomes' throw was still impressive.
Another angle, via NFL Network :
NFL Network had reported that those in attendance included 49ers GM John Lynch, Seattle Seahawks GM John Schneider, then-New York Giants head coach Ben McAdoo, and several quarterback coaches. The report did not mention if the Chiefs were in attendance.
However, they might not have needed to be there. Yahoo's Terez Paylor reported in 2018 that over Mahomes' junior season in college, Brett Veach, then the Chiefs' director of personnel and now the GM, had grown "infatuated" with Mahomes. Veach was the biggest proponent of drafting Mahomes and was in communication with Mahomes' agent daily during the draft process.
The Chiefs liked Mahomes enough to trade up to No. 10 in the draft to take him. Those in attendance of Mahomes' pro day in 2017 are likely now kicking themselves.
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See Also:
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