Every year in the NFL Draft there are boom or bust prospects. The 2017 NFL Draft is no different and Patrick Mahomes proves just that.
It’s official. Everyone is buying the hype of 2017 NFL Draft hopeful, Patrick Mahomes. Well, at least we know the New York faithful are.It’s been confirmed the New York Jets, Buffalo Bills and the New York Giants have had private workouts with the talented quarterback. Can you blame them?
His video game numbers he put up catch your eye, which is where we are as a society when it comes to this pro game transition. According to the higher powers that be, the offense he ran at Texas Tech isn’t a “pro-style offense,” so he’ll have to learn how they do it in the pros.
Quite honestly, though, the NFL would be better served and they’re working towards these spread offenses anyway. But let’s save that conversation for another day.
I spoke with Bleacher Report’s Connor Rogers on ESPN Radio over the last couple weeks talking about a variety of prospects. The one that has generated the most conversation has been Patrick Mahomes. Here’s what he had to say:
“I would say the biggest boom or bust prospect in this year’s class is Patrick Mahomes, the quarterback out of Texas Tech. If you were building a quarterback from scratch, he would be it, he has everything. He can move, he has a rocket arm, big body and he seems relatively intelligent. Although whether he can run an NFL offense remains to be seen coming out of that Texas Tech offense. But that’s the prevailing question right there. Can he process fast enough, can he take it to the next level?”
“While the problem is Big-12 defenses have shown no real threats like NFL level defenses will. He’s going in the first round. I just don’t see him getting past the Houston Texans.”
Now another question is this, “Will he make a team like the Texans or whoever drafts him look like a genius?”
Mahomes could be a top-10 quarterback in this league, he has the talent. Or is he going to be out of the league in three years? This is very similar to the Logan Thomas situation in Arizona a couple years ago when he was a fourth round pick. Teams are going to keep drafting these guys because they believe they can be the team that develops them.” — Connor Rogers via ESPN Radio in Syracuse
Numbers, physical characteristics, “top-10 quarterback ability,” this guy seems like a slam dunk. Only he’s not. We’ve seen this song and dance before.
Jamarcus Russell is at the front of that list. 6-foot6, 260 pounds of man. A guy who can literally throw the ball 100 yards, from endzone to endzone. But as we know, it’s more than just pure ability.
I’m not trying to label Mahomes as the biggest bust prospect the NFL has seen in its’ history, but he has that potential. He can also be what Connor said the next big thing.
It’s hard to compare stats, considering that 10 years is a long time from 2007 Russell being the number one pick in the draft and the LSU ground and pound offense to the spread high-octane Red Raider offense of today.
But to bring the possible Jets angle back into this, if the Jets opt against my methodology of going quarterback with their sixth choice (as detailed in my mock draft) they could opt to trade back from six.
The ideal scenario would be dropping to 12th and swapping with Cleveland for their top of the second round pick. Then take best player available and stockpile draft picks and have ammunition to trade ahead of the Houston Texans at 25.
Mahomes could be the future, which may entice the Jets brass to dare take a dive into the deep end of the pool.
So if you dare, would you take a chance on Mahomes? Your NFL life as a GM or head coach could depend on it.
