While the Pittsburgh Steelers had slim odds to snag Texas Tech QB Patrick Mahomes in the 2017 NFL Draft, general manager Kevin Colbert held him in the highest regards. At least, according to Mike Tomlin. In his weekly interview with Steelers.com’s Bob Labriola, Tomlin revealed Mahomes was the apple of Colbert’s eye.
“I remember specifically that Kevin Colbert was extremely high on him,” Tomlin told Labriola. “You know, I was halfway paying attention, because we had Ben Roethlisberger kind of in his prime at that time, and so it was window shopping for me.”
While Mahomes has turned out to be a generational quarterback, he was a polarizing player coming out of college. Playing in a wide-open and spread system, Mahomes dazzled with big plays. But some wondered if the skill set could translate or if he’d run into more resistance from NFL defenses. Even our scouting report noted his boom-bust nature though we noted if Pittsburgh was going to consider a quarterback in the class, Mahomes should be the team’s top target.
Picking 30th overall and still aiming to win with Ben Roethlisberger, the Steelers had little chance for Mahomes to fall into their laps. And they weren’t going to trade up even if they did host him for a pre-draft visit. Ultimately, it was the Kansas City Chiefs who climbed the draft ladder, moving from No. 27 to No. 10 to land him. After sitting behind Alex Smith his rookie year, Mahomes took over in 2018 and hasn’t looked back. One of his breakout parties came against Pittsburgh, throwing for 326 yards and six touchdowns in a 42-38 victory.
“Kevin, I remember very specifically, he always did his due diligence, and he was sky-high on Mahomes,” Tomlin said of Colbert. “And I just remember him specifically talking about his release points and the fact that he could throw the ball on the move and from a variety of angles and body positions.”
That’s translated to the NFL, Mahomes routinely making incredible off-script and off-platform plays. Even his incompletions are mesmerizing, perhaps none greater than this would-be touchdown in the Super Bowl had it not been dropped.
Of course, there aren’t too many stories about the general managers who weren’t high on star players coming out of college but it’s a notable note on what Colbert thought of Mahomes at the time even if the evaluation proved moot. Unfortunately, the team’s evaluation of Pitt QB Kenny Pickett, the final first-round selection of Colbert’s tenure, wasn’t nearly as sharp.
While Pittsburgh missed out on Mahomes, they got a strong consolation prize. After the Dallas Cowboys passed him up, the Steelers selected Wisconsin EDGE T.J. Watt. Like Mahomes, Watt will end his career in Canton, Ohio, as one of the best players of his era.
