Kansas City Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes desired for future iterations of the successful charity golf match.
Last Sunday’s “The Match: Champions for Charity” was a smashing success, raising $20 million for COVID-19 relief, double their initial goal. Phil Mickelson is ready to turn the charity golf match into an annual event, boasting even more star power. The first iteration of “The Match” featured Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson. The second upped the ante with the additions of Tom Brady and Peyton Manning.
One of the stars who Mickelson wants to see join “The Match” in the future is Kansas City Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes.
“I think you could showcase guys like Steph Curry and Michael Jordan or Tony Romo and Patrick Mahomes, who are all good golfers, elite talents and have great personalities,” Mickelson told the Los Angeles Times. “Those personalities are going to come out with this event. Or you could have someone who loves the game and is competitive but is really entertaining like Larry David and Bill Murray. I think that could shine.”
Mahomes is competitive in every sport that he plays, and golf is no exception.
Remember when this effortless “batting practice” with Chiefs WR Gehrig Dieter went viral? Perhaps Mahomes could put his own flair on golf, just like he does on the football gridiron.
— Patrick Mahomes II (@PatrickMahomes) May 28, 2020
Whenever the next iteration of ‘The Match’ takes place, Mahomes has already said that he’s ready to participate. What do you think, Chiefs Kingdom? Would you tune in and watch Mahomes play in a charity golf match? Let us know your thoughts on Facebook and Twitter.
The Kansas City Star’s Sam Mellinger reports that contract negotiations between the Chiefs and Mahomes are underway.
Patrick Mahomes’ agency and the Kansas City Chiefs have started negotiations working toward a long-term contract extension according to a report from the Kansas City Star’s Sam Mellinger. The details regarding the extension are still fuzzy at this time. Both sides have been tight-lipped about negotiations beyond letting us know they’re both committed to getting a deal done.
Mellinger says there are two things we know about the forthcoming contract for Mahomes. The given is that he will become the highest-paid player in NFL history, something that has been universally assumed at this point. Based on the information that Mellinger received talking with various agents, he has the total value of Mahomes deal at $160 million or more. Will it be fully guaranteed at the point of signing? Agents around the NFL would certainly love that.
The second thing we know per Mellinger is that Mahomes’ contract extension has the potential to change how contract negotiations in the NFL are handled in the future. The eyes of the NFL are watching at this point, from agents to front offices. One anonymous agent even referred to it as, “the holy grail.”
An interesting point that Mellinger raises is that with the potential for a lower salary cap in 2021 amidst the coronavirus pandemic, could there be provisions in Mahomes’ contract tying it to a set percentage of the salary cap? That’d be rather unheard of and it might be a tough sell for Mahomes and his agent.
Now Kansas City doesn’t need to rush into anything with Mahomes. They exercised Mahomes’ fifth-year option, and with that, he’s under contract through the 2021 season. However, the feeling seems to be that the longer the Chiefs wait, the more expensive Mahomes’ contract extension becomes.
Whatever the scenario, we know that the 24-year-old quarterback has all the leverage in the world to land a massive deal with the Chiefs. We know that his contract will set a new standard and perhaps one that could benefit players across the league.
How does Pittsburgh UDFA WR Maurice Ffrench fit with the Kansas City Chiefs?
Maurice Ffrench was an esteemed player in every regard at the University of Pittsburgh. During his freshman season, when the team was in a bind due to injuries Ffrench stepped in and played cornerback for two games. He played some defense prior to college but was recruited as a receiver. While he didn’t catch any passes that season, he was utilized on jet sweeps, accumulating a whopping 10.2 yards per carry on the ground.
His versatility only evolved from there, being utilized at numerous receiver spots, as a return specialist on kicks and punts, and on jet sweeps. Starting in 2018, Ffrench burst onto the scene as a receiver. He shined working the intermediate routes for the Panthers offense. While he wasn’t invited to the combine and didn’t have a pro day, he’s previously been clocked running a 4.4 40-yard dash.
Stats:
2016: Seven games played. 12 carries for 122 yards and two touchdowns. Two tackles.
2017: 11 games played. 25 catches for 272 yards. Nine carries for 71 yards.
2018: 14 games played. 35 catches for 515 yards and six touchdowns. 19 carries for 164 yards and two touchdowns. 20 kick returns for 547 yards and two touchdowns.
2019: 11 games played. 96 catches for 850 yards and four touchdowns. Nine rushes for 22 yards. 27 punt returns for 166 yards.
We’ve learned that the Chiefs are looking to add another receiver with the ability to return punts and kickoffs so that Mecole Hardman can take a larger role on offense. Most of the undrafted free agent receivers they brought in seem to have special teams experience and Ffrench is no exception. In fact, he had the ninth most kick return yards in the FBS in 2018.
Ffrench appears to believe he’s a fit for the Chiefs as well. He had them circled as a team he was interested in as soon as they began to show interest ahead of the 2020 NFL Draft.
“They get their playmakers the ball. They let them get out there and run, and they throw short passes to help them create missed tackles and some YAC,” Ffrench told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “Right after the seventh round, me and my agent looked at the depth charts and what types of offenses I could be in. Would I be able to make an impact? Would I be able to get on special teams? Would I be able to fit in? And for me, that was the Chiefs.”
As a senior at Pitt, Ffrench broke Larry Fitzgerald’s single-season record for receptions with 96. His hands are probably the strongest part of his game, but he needs to work on his deep ball tracking, especially going into an offense like Kansas City. He’ll need to earn his stripes on special teams if he’s to make the 53-man roster, but he feels like someone who could have a future as a slot receiver for the Chiefs.
Kansas City Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes was selected as the quarterback for NFL.com’s All-Under-25 Team.
Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes has been named to NFL.com’s All-Under-25 Team. The team features 26 players under the age of 25 who are considered among the rising stars in the NFL. In order to qualify for this list, all of the players must be under the age of 25 when the NFL season is scheduled to kick off on September 10.
Here’s a look at what NFL.com’s Marc Sessler had to say about Mahomes:
“Were you expecting someone else? Thirty-one starts into his made-for-cinema career, Patrick Mahomes appears to harbor no weakness, topping his 50-touchdown MVP frolic of 2018 with a Super Bowl title one season later. Lamar Jackson and Deshaun Watson spin a special brand of brilliance, but Mahomes looms today as the most complete-package quarterback of our time. Emitting downfield laser fire and flair-drenched sidearm spells with ease, Mahomes scans defenders with the eyes of a hawk and remains underrated in one key category: physical toughness. The beating heart of the Chiefs played through a laundry list of concerning injuries last autumn to reach the promised land and cap off a torrid, two-year run that all but redefined what we feel about the most important position in sports.“
The 24-year-old Mahomes enters his third season as a starter already having achieved so much. He’s crushed franchise and NFL records, he’s become league MVP and Super Bowl MVP in back-to-back seasons. As Sessler explained, he’s entirely redefined how the position is viewed and what early success as an NFL QB should look like.
Despite running the gamut on NFL achievements, Mahomes remains as motivated as ever. He’s still looking for ways that he can improve his game despite this unique offseason. That fact alone should have opposing NFL teams worried about the greatness that could soon follow. It’s hard to imagine, but Mahomes is just at the tip of the iceberg when it comes to reaching his seemingly limitless potential.
How does Michigan UDFA QB Shea Patterson fit with the Kansas City Chiefs?
Shea Patterson was a highly-touted recruit out of high school. He was brought to Ole Miss under Hugh Freeze in 2016, earning the second-string job behind starting QB Chad Kelly. When Freeze resigned suddenly in 2017, it opened up the opportunity for Patterson to transfer without losing a year of eligibility.
Instead of sticking with the Rebels under Matt Luke and competing with QB Jordan Ta’amu, Patterson transferred to the University of Michigan. There he had a chance to play for coach Jim Harbaugh. Patterson was named the starter for the Wolverines in 2018.
Consistency has been a big problem for Patterson since joining the college football ranks. He has some brilliant moments when improvising, but he also has some questionable decisions that need to be coached out of him. He’s done an alright job taking care of the football in his career, but he still misses too many easy throws.
In Patterson’s final season at Michigan he started to get into some more advanced RPO concepts and he saw mixed results. The biggest problem became fumbles at the mesh point, with Patterson putting the ball on the ground. At the same time, he did a much better job identifying the correct read compared to previous seasons.
Stats:
2016: Three games played. 72-of-132 for 880 passing yards, six touchdowns and three interceptions.
2017: Seven games played. 166-of-260 for 2,259 passing yards, 17 touchdowns and nine interceptions.
2018: 13 games played. 210-of-325 for 2,600 passing yards, 22 touchdowns and seven interceptions.
2019: 13 games played. 214-of-381 for 3,061 passing yards, 23 touchdowns and eight interceptions.
It’s easy to see what Andy Reid and the Chiefs’ evaluators like about Patterson. He’s a former five-star recruit that didn’t exactly meet his expectations in college. They’re hoping that they can find a diamond in the rough that can play well in their system.
Patterson is a bit of a game manager type at quarterback. He has decent arm strength and accuracy. He has good mobility and is capable of working off-script. The best thing is the improvement that he showed in the RPO game during his senior season. The Chiefs ran the most RPOs in the NFL last season, so having a quarterback who can execute on those plays is important, even if it’s only during practice.
With all of that in mind, it’s hard to imagine that Patterson will be anything more than a training camp arm in Kansas City. He’ll have a chance to compete with former Ole Miss teammate Jordan Ta’amu for the No. 3 job for the Chiefs. The No. 2 job is squarely Chad Henne’s because there’s no way for Kansas City to get out of his contract in 2020 without burning money.
The film and advanced statistics tell the tale, Kansas City Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes is your best deep-ball passer.
Kansas City Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes has the reputation of being one of the most dynamic young quarterbacks in football.
He’s obviously one of the most decorated quarterbacks out there, winning NFL AP MVP honors as a first-year starter and Super Bowl MVP honors this past year. Those awards are indicative of his exciting play on the field. Passing inside the pocket or outside the pocket, clean or under pressure, Mahomes has proven to be great at a lot of different facets of the QB position.
In a recent examination of NFL’s deep-ball passers sparked by NBC Sports analyst Chris Simms, Touchdown Wire’s Doug Farrar sought to figure out which current NFL QB is the best throwing the ball deep. Spoiler Alert: Mahomes came out as the top-ranked QB for Farrar.
This wasn’t simply a measure of who can hurl the football the furthest, though, Mahomes might win that too. Farrar looked at things like timing, arm talent and long-distance throws into tight windows.
Here’s a look at what Farrar had to say about Mahomes:
“No quarterback was more dynamic and explosive with the deep ball than Mahomes in the 2019 season, and no quarterback was more deadly efficient with the deep ball. Mahomes led the NFL last season with 15 deep touchdowns while throwing just three interceptions, and he also led the league in deep-ball yardage at 1,385. In addition, no quarterback taking at least 50% of his team’s snaps had a higher Adjusted Completion Percentage on deep throws than Mahomes’ 56.2. Here’s the scary part: Mahomes did all of this while playing through injuries that limited his effectiveness in the middle of the season. Good luck dealing with the healthy version in 2020 and beyond.“
The exact methodology that Farrar used to come to this conclusion included film study, PFF metrics on throws of 20 or more air yards, SIS data on specific deep routes, and NFL Next Gen Stats on throws into tight coverage, percentage of air yards, and attempted/completed air yards.
The best deep-ball throwers are the ones who don't need "GoFundMe balls" from their receivers. The end zone angle of this Patrick Mahomes TD to Tyreek Hill shows the exactitude required of the best to do it. pic.twitter.com/s3fNcoXSNN
The best part about this determination is that Mahomes can still get better as a deep-ball passer. As Farrar points out, Mahomes wasn’t exactly healthy for most of the season. He suffered an ankle injury in Week 1 that lingered up until his dislocated kneecap which knocked him out for a few weeks. Imagine what he’ll be capable of as a deep-ball passer without being hampered by injury. It’s an exciting prospect for Chiefs fans and a scary thought for the rest of the NFL.
Mahomes is listed among spring commencement speakers for his alma mater Texas Tech.
Kansas City Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes is doing something nice for his alma mater next weekend.
Traditional commencement ceremonies have been canceled across the globe due to the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in disappointment for a lot of hard-working students deserving recognition for their achievements. Many universities will opt for a virtual commencement ceremony, such as Texas Tech.
On Friday it was announced that Mahomes, a Texas Tech alumnus, would be the 2020 Spring Commencement speaker for the Red Raiders during their virtual ceremony. The Super Bowl MVP attended Texas Tech from 2014-2016 before being selected by the Chiefs in the first round of the 2017 NFL Draft.
Since his departure from Texas Tech, he’s seen an unprecedented rise to stardom in the NFL and set a positive example for all students to follow.
“Patrick’s story and his rise to stardom, both here at Texas Tech and in the NFL, have been a great source of pride for Red Raiders and an inspiration for thousands,” said Texas Tech President Lawrence Schovanec in a press release. “During that rise, Patrick has never wavered from the lessons learned from his family, coaches and his time as a student-athlete at Texas Tech, displaying class, humility and a competitive fire to be the best. We are very pleased and grateful that he will address our May 2020 graduates who have persevered in spite of unique challenges to earn their degrees.”
You can watch the live stream of the Texas Tech commencement beginning at 9 a.m. on Saturday, May 23.
Touchdown Wire says Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes is the best quarterback for throws under pressure.
What type of throw is Kansas City Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes best at? Our friend Doug Farrar over at Touchdown Wire recently sought to answer that question, breaking down the best quarterbacks for every type of throw.
You might be thinking that it’s any throw that involves a football and a receiver named Tyreek Hill, Travis Kelce, Sammy Watkins, etc. That might also be true, but there was one specific type of throw where Mahomes stood out above his football-throwing peers in 2019 — throwing under pressure.
Here’s a look at what Farrar had to say about Mahomes and his unique ability to get passes off while under pressure:
“Mahomes didn’t have the NFL’s highest passer rating under pressure in 2019 — that went to Drew Brees (98.6) to Mahomes’ 90.4. But no quarterback was more prolific when creating scoring plays — the reigning Super Bowl MVP threw 12 touchdowns to just three picks, with 1,170 yards.“
Yes, Mahomes is also sublime from the pocket and every other type of throw out there. Farrar even prefaced his article saying that Mahomes is, “probably the best quarterback in the NFL right now.” But the amazing throws, scoring plays and overall impact that he’s able to make when throwing under pressure definitely separates him from the rest of the QBs out there.
It’s not just the 2019 season either, he has been doing this since he entered the league. Anyone remember this gem from Week 4 of 2018?
Pressured by multiple defenders, rolling left, rolling right and finding a receiver in the corner of the endzone for a score. He makes it look easy too, and almost artistic the way he dances away from the grasps of defenders. No one else out there can do it the way he does while under pressure.
