How the Kansas City Chiefs Used Misdirection to Secure Patrick Mahomes in the 2017 NFL Draft
While speaking on “The Schrager Hour,” Borgonzi detailed how Brett Veach became fixated on Mahomes’ talent, and that level of conviction stemmed from early evaluations led by Veach himself, who stumbled upon Mahomes’ tape while scouting another prospect. What followed was a relentless internal push to convince head coach Andy Reid of the quarterback’s potential.
“He [Brett Veach] started to see this quarterback, like, wow, look at this throw, look at this throw. know, [Brett] Veach is always always big with the videos and stuff on his phone. So he starts filming it, starts shooting it over to Andy, and, Andy’s probably like, dude, it’s May right now, slow down. But he was relentless with it,” Borgonzi said, highlighting how early belief turned into organizational consensus.
With Mahomes firmly in their plans, the Chiefs knew secrecy would be key. As draft night approached and trade rumors began to swirl, Kansas City deliberately created a smokescreen to mislead rival teams.
“But we pretty much knew, I think during the fall that we were going with the pick. The night of the draft was just, we’re all in pins and needles just trying to get up there. And then we finally found a trade partner with Buffalo at 10. And, I think we may, because there was some rumors that we were trying to trade up and I think we might’ve leaked out that we were trading up for a linebacker that night,” he added.