How the Kansas City Chiefs are giving star quarterback Patrick Mahomes more control
In a sequence of events separated by only a few minutes Thursday, Patrick Mahomes lofted a football high into the air, seemingly an overthrow on its release, that receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling managed to run underneath — before, a short while later, Mahomes zipped a ball with velocity that nestled into the hands of JuJu Smith-Schuster.
The Chiefs are on the practice field for organized team activities this week, and for the first time this offseason, that has included their quarterback and his new batch of receivers.
It is not, however, the first time these guys have gotten together this spring. A couple of months ago, before the Chiefs opened the initial phase of OTAs, Mahomes approach head coach Andy Reid with a request. Rather than attend the workouts in Kansas City, Mahomes wanted to gather the team’s receivers and tight ends in Texas.
Outside the Chiefs’ facility.
On his turf.
“You want to build that chemistry fast,” Mahomes said. “The best way to do that is get away from the building. In the building, everybody is on their P’s and Q’s. Everybody’s trying to be the best they can be. But you want to be with someone outside the building, see what their family is like, see what they like, what their interests are.”
Reid is a coach who prefers to stick to structures that have long worked for him and adapt where necessary elsewhere, and this setup doesn’t exactly fit that mold. There’s a loosening of control happening here that we shouldn’t ignore. Reid obliged Mahomes’ request, even as it meant certain things were done differently than they’d been done in the past.
For example: Mahomes said the team’s coaches teach the ideal way to run routes, but occasionally he sees a play through another lens, which is often dictated by coverages. Those are the types of concepts that fed into the April workouts in Texas, which spanned four weeks.
Mahomes and the receivers still attended virtual meetings with Chiefs personnel during the OTA phase. But Mahomes assumed control of the first in-person workouts for a host of new Chiefs receivers.
“I felt comfortable with that,” Reid said. “I knew they were going to work out; they had a workout facility. You can see that they got things done. I think from my standpoint to them, it shows some trust that I have in them.”
And to his credit, Reid said he noticed an impact from the player-driven (or Mahomes-driven) workouts in Texas.
“I think sometimes it’s not bad to just step back an inch,” he said. “And then you guys felt the energy out there today — it’s ridiculous right now. We’re getting these positive practices right now with a tremendous amount of energy.”
They obliged Mahomes’ request for some off-the-field control.
They’re offering him more control on the field, too, even if it’s by circumstance and necessity.
A year ago, the Chiefs targeted Tyreek Hill on 159 passes, which was 43.8% of the Chiefs’ wide receiver targets. That’s, uh, a lot. They force-fed him the ball.
The Chiefs have no choice to replace those targets now that Hill is in Miami, obviously, but they will have a choice in how to split them up. And that’s precisely the plan. Split them up.
It will create an advantage the Chiefs didn’t have in 2021. They will be less predictable. That’s a bonus of the trade we’ve previously discussed.
But the added component is that it offers Mahomes more on-field freedom. We saw a glimpse of it in a game against Pittsburgh a year ago, in which Kelce sat out with COVID-19 and Hill played in only a limited role. Mahomes thrived, completing 23 of 30 passes for 258 yards. He progressed through his reads. Found the open guy. Didn’t matter who caught it.
Now, the Chiefs won’t be as strong at No. 1 wide receiver as they were a year ago, but they are stronger as you dive deeper into the depth chart — with Smith-Schuster, Valdes-Scantling, Mecole Hardman, rookie Skyy Moore and a host of others who will be battling for the fifth and perhaps sixth spots.
More options.
More prerogative for Mahomes to make plays as he sees fit — even if it’s not the initial design.
“I think that’s what you’re going to see with the offense this year — it’s gonna be everybody,” Mahomes said. “It’s not going to be one guy. And obviously Travis (Kelce) is still going to get a lot of completions and a lot of yards. But I think the whole receiving room is going to have a big days, and that could be something we use to our advantage.”
This story was originally published May 30, 2022 at 5:00 AM with the headline "How the Kansas City Chiefs are giving star quarterback Patrick Mahomes more control."