"It was like a guilty pleasure” - ESPN Analyst Gregg McElroy gushes over Patrick Mahomes' tape
ESPN analyst Greg McElroy has watched a lot of football throughout his own career and is now part of his broadcasting job. But even he is impressed with quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
As a guest on the "Ross Tucker Football Podcast," McElroy talked about the first time he watched Mahomes' tape from college. More specifically, the Texas Tech vs. Kansas State game.
McElroy went on to talk about how impressive it has been to watch Patrick Mahomes take the success and skill he has at the collegiate level now in the National Football League.
"I had a couple of scouting buddies say, Hey, man, check out the Kansas State tape. And I just I watched it just hey, they're they're kind of I was hitting them on a couple players. They were hitting me on a couple guys. And and the Kansas State tape was maybe the best tape I think I've ever seen as far as just raw horsepower from a quarterback. And I don't ever call it they want it. But he made some throws in that game that were like mind boggling. And at that point, I became pretty enamored. And I almost became Ross and I remember vividly doing the shows of both you and Bob Papa. And I watched every single college snap of his final college year usually a breakdown of a guy takes what? Four games, I mean, tops. But it was like a guilty pleasure. I had to watch it. And it was it was a lot of fun to watch. I don't think any of us and even my buddies that were on the Kansas City Chiefs staff. Prior to him taking over. Nobody really knew exactly what they had. They're like, this guy might go in there and throw six picks a game, I don't know. But he's got some gifts. And sure enough, it's it's blossomed into, you know, one of the most impressive starts to an NFL career we've ever seen from a guy at the quarterback spot.” -Gregg McElroy on Ross Tucker Football Podcast
WIth that scouting report, there's no doubt that the Kansas City Chiefs were also impressed with what they were seeing when they decided to draft him while still having Alex Smith as their starter.
Is Patrick Mahomes the best QB drafted in 2017?
Sometimes it's fun for NFL fans to look back at certain draft classes and look at who was drafted and in what round. Sometimes it turns out that the best players in the NFL are taken after some players who haven't made a career for themselves.
For instance, the first round of the 2017 NFL Draft includes a lot of big names that are still integral parts of their respective teams to this day.
Active QBs with a Super Bowl win
Matthew Stafford
Aaron Rodgers
Patrick Mahomes
Nick Foles
Russell Wilson
Joe Flacco https://t.co/MsousVJ5hL
In terms of quarterbacks, Patrick Mahomes was drafted by the Chiefs at number ten. The only quarterback drafted before him was Mitchell Trubisky who was drafted by the Chicago Bears at number two.
Trubisky has since left the Bears and was the backup to Josh Allen in Buffalo in 2021. The only other quarterback drafted in the first round was Deshaun Watson at number 12 by the Houston Texans.
Up until the conclusion of the 2020 NFL season, Watson too was making a name for himself and was seen as the face of the Texans franchise. If he can get the trade he has requested, he may be able to pick up where he left off.
With Mahomes leading his team to four consecutive trips to the AFC Championship game and two back-to-back trips to the Super Bowl, including a win and an NFL MVP award, it's easy to say that to make the distinction, the Kansas City Chiefs did make the best decision in 2017.