Why did Patrick Mahomes flop at NFL Combine? Revisiting Chiefs Super Bowl winner's disastrous showing

One of Patrick Mahomes' biggest strengths is his athleticism. This allows him to make all those fantastic plays when evading defenders before throwing passes without a platform to build his torque and his arm strength.

If you look at Mahomes while he's playing, you would think that he's the most athletic quarterback in the league and, because of that, he'd have crushed the NFL Combine. But back in 2017, when he was just waiting to discover his future, his NFL combine was far from impressive - in fact, it was really bad.

Patrick Mahomes had an awful 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine

Patrick Mahomes ran an awful 4.80 in both of his 40-yard dash attempts in the NFL Combine. Even if he's not a runner by design, this number was not helpful for his stock.

He rose prominently during the NFL draft season. This was because while he was a completely different player, there were a ton of qualities that the right coaching staff could build upon. Especially his ability to throw off-platform and his precision in deep balls.

Luckily for them, the Kansas City Chiefs had the perfect coaching staff ready to mould him into a near-perfect player. It would have been a shame to see his talents wasted on another team that might've tried to turn him into a traditional player.

What were Patrick Mahomes' official numbers at the combine?

Apart from the 4.80 40-yard dash, some of the official numbers from his performance include a vertical jump of 30 inches. Also, a broad jump of 9 feet and 6 inches and a 3-cone drill consisting of 6.88 seconds.

An NFC executive had this as a scouting report following his combine:

"He's got a great arm, big balls, and he's mobile. He is going to drive his head coach crazy for the first couple of years and there is no getting around that. If it clicks for him and he's coachable, I think he could become a special quarterback."

The NFL's official website attributed him a 6.30 grade, saying that he was projected to become a plus-starter. Every NFL fan thanks him for turning into a legitimate superstar, which makes the game way more fun.