"I would have never taken him": When Chiefs HC Andy Reid reacted to Patrick Mahomes receiving pre-draft help

The Kansas City Chiefs have made it to their third straight Super Bowl and fifth SB appearance since Patrick Mahomes became a starter. Although the Texas Tech quarterback had a fantastic career in college, he needed some help to get into the Chiefs.

When coach Andy Reid found out about the help Mahomes sought, he was shocked by the revelation and told the media in December 2022:

“Are you serious? Geez, I didn’t know that. I would have never taken him,” Reid said, laughing.

Of course, Reid wouldn’t want to let go of Mahomes now, but back in 2017, Mahomes was just a rookie. Although Mahomes wanted to impress the Chiefs’ coach, he wasn’t aware of how to do it. Since Chiefs offensive coordinator Matt Nagy liked Mahomes, he gave him a tip for a head start.

Mahomes narrated the incident to the Kelce brothers in an appearance on the "New Heights" podcast in December 2022.

“I was at the facility,” Mahomes said. “We had the meetings, like, the top 30 visits, so I was in there for, like, five hours… Matt Nagy, who was the offensive coordinator then, really liked me, so he gave me the plays they were going to go over the night before.”

As good a student as Mahomes was, he stayed up all night studying the plays. The next day, Mahomes crushed the meeting and gave them some bonus intel on his draft. He told them there were other coaches interested in taking him if he was available in the draft.

“As the process went on, I got a feeling that I was kind of going up in the draft,” Mahomes said.

Patrick Mahomes reveals teams who were interested in drafting him

Patrick Mahomes wasn’t making it up. According to his admission, four teams were interested in him, including the Chiefs. In an appearance on "Pardon My Take," Mahomes revealed:

“There were a couple of teams, and one was the Chiefs, as I thought for sure I would go here,” Mahomes said.

“The Arizona Cardinals liked me a lot, and the New Orleans Saints too. Those were the teams that really liked me.”

With the Saints, Patrick Mahomes could have ended up backing up Drew Brees if not for the trade the Chiefs made with the Bills for draft pick No. 10. The Chiefs picked Mahomes, while the Saints settled for cornerback Marshon Lattimore.