'Yeah, I'm gone next year' – Former Chiefs QB knew he was done after seeing Patrick Mahomes throw as a rookie for the first time
Patrick Mahomes was selected by the Kansas City Chiefs with the No. 10 overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft, so expectations were certainly high for the former Texas Tech standout. Almost no one, however, thought that Mahomes would win three Super Bowls and two league MVPs before turning 30. Former Chiefs quarterback Tyler Bray, […]
Patrick Mahomes was selected by the Kansas City Chiefs with the No. 10 overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft, so expectations were certainly high for the former Texas Tech standout.
Almost no one, however, thought that Mahomes would win three Super Bowls and two league MVPs before turning 30.
Former Chiefs quarterback Tyler Bray, of course, didn't realize that Mahomes would develop into a future Hall of Famer during their one season together (2017) in Kansas City.
Bray, though, did realize after seeing Mahomes throw live for the first time that he probably wouldn't be returning to the Chiefs the following season (and Bray was correct).
The former Tennessee Vols quarterback, who played for the Chiefs from 2013 to 2017, recently joined the Bring the Juice podcast and he shared his first impression of a young Mahomes.
"The first pass he threw, I mean, he rolled out — it wasn't [actually] the first pass I saw him throw — he rolled out to the right and hucked one [down]field," said Bray. "And I'm like, 'S–t, what are you doing?' And it was just money. And you're like, how strong is this guy — how far did he just throw that? Like, they're gonna have to check that on film later. But you saw his arm talent, just his natural ability to spit the ball out of different arm angles. You saw that very early. So you knew he had all the tools to be that guy, but how is it gonna pan out?
"Because you're one of 96 (quarterbacks in the NFL) — there's not a lot of guys that can say that. Everybody can make every throw. But it's the little things. It's getting out of bad plays and checking to this [play] or not forcing a ball downfield when you don't need to and just dumping it down [instead]. Little things like that are what makes Mahomes great. When s–t breaks down, he's able to get out of it. He will make a bad play better. Because quarterbacks, you don't want to make a bad play worse. Bad snap or a guy runs the wrong route, all of a sudden you roll out and start panicking and then throw a pick. Don't make a bad play worse, right?"
"He's not, he's not a physical specimen by any means," continued Bray. "Like at the combine, you're in your tights, standing up, you look at him, you're like, okay that guy could play at a junior college, not knowing him…..And then he gets out there and starts making plays, you're like, 'Oh, s–t, this guy's legit'. And so that's kind of what it was like. He came in, and it's like, okay, another quarterback. I knew they were hyped about him. They've been talking about him for two years, so we knew they loved him coming in. And then seeing him live, it was one of those deals where, like, you saw him throw live, and you're like, 'Okay, yeah, I'm gone next year'."
Bray entered preseason action in 2017 as the No. 2 quarterback in Kansas City behind starter Alex Smith. It only took a couple of weeks for Mahomes to start receiving second team reps ahead of Bray.
Bray wasn't the only one that realized his time in Kansas City was coming to an end after seeing Mahomes throw as a rookie.
Here's what I wrote back in August 2017 (not that it took any special scouting abilities to make this determination):
It’s painfully obvious that Bray is now firmly behind rookie Patrick Mahomes. The rookie quarterback played behind starter Alex Smith. Mahomes did, however, see some time with the first team offense, after Smith left the game….Bray is a free agent after the 2017 season, and I think at this point it’s safe to say that he won’t be playing in Kansas City in 2018. The Chiefs believe they’ve found the heir to Alex Smith and it’s not Tyler Bray.
Bray played for the Chicago Bears from 2018 to 2020. He then spent part of the 2021 season with the San Francisco 49ers. Bray finished his NFL career with one completion for 18 yards.
