RISING STOCK
Scouts like what they’re seeing from Tech QB Mahomes
INDIANAPOLIS — Patrick Mahomes has not thrown a pass since Texas Tech defeated Baylor 54-35 in the last game of the 2016 season, but his stock is soaring.
The more draft experts analyze game tape of the 6-2, 225-pound Mahomes, the more they like him. At this early stage of the scouting process, some are predicting the underclassman has a chance to be drafted in the first round.
“It would definitely be awesome,” Mahomes said Friday at the NFL scouting combine. “That’s the dream. You want to be a first-round guy.
“For me, it’s all about going to the right team, the right organization. I want to get coached really hard. I want to have every chance to prove my game every day.”
Perhaps the quarterback-needy Texans, who have the 25th pick in the first round, will be interested in Ma-
homes. He has a strong right arm and can make every throw, according to scouts who have evaluated him.
Entering the scouting combine, Mahomes was rated in that second group of quarterbacks behind the big three of North Carolina’s Mitch Trubisky, Clemson’s Deshaun Watson and Notre Dame’s DeShone Kizer.
Mahomes, Pittsburgh’s Nathan Peterman, California’s Davis Webb and Miami’s Brad Kaaya have a chance to move up during the combine, pro days and private workouts before the draft April 27-29.
‘I have the talent’ Mahomes, who is represented by agent Leigh Steinberg, is participating in every drill.
“There are a lot of guys who are really good in this class,” Mahomes said. “I’m going to compete hard.
“It’s an awesome experience, and I’m really just trying to take it all in and learn as the process goes along.”
Mahomes thinks he has a chance to rise in the rankings, and he believes he just might be the best in his class.
“I definitely think I could be,” he said. “I have the talent to be. It’s going to be on who works the hardest.”
Mahomes knows what he wants to show the scouts.
“The 40 and the running, seeing how I’m athletic,” he said. “I can move around and avoid people and make people miss.
“And then throwing, just showing I can make every NFL throw. The deep comebacks, the go routes, the post-corners, everything like that. I’ve got to be able to throw where I want them and show I can stretch the field.”
In his 2½ years as a starter for Red Raiders coach Kliff Kingsbury, Mahomes threw for 11,251 yards and 93 touchdowns. He had 29 interceptions.
“He’s made me the quarterback I am today,” Mahomes said about Kingsbury. “He’s helped me improve every year. He pushed me and gave me advice. Go all in, all football all the time.
“His work ethic and the way he studies, it transcended to me, and it’s something I’ll use going into the NFL.”
As a junior last season, Mahomes had 41 touchdowns, 10 interceptions and 5,051 yards.
It’s important for him to not be viewed as a system quarterback.
“I just show them my knowledge for the game,” he said. “That’s the only way I can prove it wrong.
“You look back at the system quarterback, a lot of guys didn’t work out (in the NFL). For me, it’s going to be about proving those guys wrong. It’ll all show up when you get on the field.”
Beating his reputation Because of his style of play, Mahomes developed a reputation as a gunslinger. That’s not a good reputation to have.
The Red Raiders threw so much that he made good and bad throws from just about every position imaginable. Sometimes, he looked undisciplined and made head-scratching decisions.
“I threw the ball a lot of times, and that’s definitely a gunslinger mentality (and), I’ve done a lot of stuff scrambling outside the pocket,” he said. “I’ve really worked on my fundamentals these last two months, and I expect to have a great day (Saturday).”
Mahomes was an outstanding baseball prospect but gave up his father’s favorite sport to play football. Patrick Mahomes Sr. pitched for six teams in an 11-year career.
Mahomes learned a lot from his father. As a child, he got to spend a lot of time around major-league players.
“It definitely helped me, just seeing professional athletes growing up,” he said. “You saw how hard they worked. When they got to the big leagues, how hard they worked to stay there.
“Him giving me advice as well as (pitcher) LaTroy Hawkins, my godfather. They really have shown me the way to be a professional athlete, and that’s definitely something I feel like is an advantage for me.”
Mahomes has no regrets about giving up a promising baseball career for football.
“It’s definitely one of the best decisions I’ve ever made,” he said. “I sold myself out to be a football player, and it’s really paid off well so far.
“I’m nowhere near the finish. I’m just beginning. I have to prove I can be an NFL quarterback.”