For quarterbacks attempting to make the transition from college to the pros, one of the biggest challenges comes from learning the far more convoluted offenses of the NFL. For Chiefs rookie Patrick Mahomes, the transition began over the weekend, with the team’s rookie minicamp.
“It’s definitely learning,” Mahomes told reporters, via quotes distributed by the team. “More so just going through the process and making the ‘mike’ ID, calling the play and making sure everyone is in the right position. It’s a lot more than I had at Texas Tech but we’re learning as we go and we’re getting better every single rep.”
One big challenge for Mahomes, like most other rookie quarterbacks, comes from communication.
“The words are pretty difficult but you get those down,” Mahomes said. “It’s about knowing what’s happening when you say the words. You can’t just say them and not know what’s going on. For me, it’s all about knowing what’s going on the entire play and knowing why coach is calling this play. . . . The biggest thing was just getting in that huddle, calling the play and knowing it. I’ve studied all of the installs that we did. . . . But whenever I got out there and called it, I had to look out, see the guys and make sure everyone was in the right position. That was the process which was a lot harder than I thought it was going to be.”
It’s a little surprising he didn’t know how hard it was going to be. But now he does, and as he sits behind Alex Smith for however long Mahomes will sit, he’ll have time to learn what he needs to learn about life as an NFL quarterback.
As he learns even more about the process, chances are he’ll continue to realize it’s all a lot harder than he thought it was going to be.