'Lot of juice, lot of speed': Mahomes, Hunt lead Chiefs' offensive awakening

MOBILE, Ala. — Just because Patrick Mahomes spent his first NFL season as a backup doesn't mean the quarterback ever lost his competitive edge.

The most accomplished member of Kansas City's 2017 draft class knows this first-hand.

When he wasn't working toward becoming the league's leading rusher last year, Kareem Hunt built a strong off-field bond with Mahomes. Hunt said that included simulated trips to the links "whenever we’re bored and just have down time."

"He always thinks he can beat me in Top Golf,” a smiling Hunt told Sporting News last week while being honored at the 2018 Senior Bowl Hall of Fame banquet. "He won most of the time. But, you know, I got a couple wins in there.”

Mahomes' prowess in yet another sport should come as no surprise. He lettered in football, basketball and baseball while attending Whitehouse (Texas) High School. Mahomes, whose father Pat enjoyed a long pro career as a pitcher, was even a 37th-round draft choice by Detroit in the 2014 MLB Draft.
Mahomes instead opted to continue his pursuit of playing in the NFL by attending Texas Tech.
It looks like he made the right choice.

In the recent trade of quarterback Alex Smith to Washington, Kansas City paved the way for Mahomes to become its 2018 starter. Ex-Chiefs offensive lineman Zach Fulton, who signed with the Texans this offseason, believes Mahomes is ready for the opportunity after the 2017 first-round pick received a year of tutelage under Smith.

"He's still young, of course, but he's got a super bright future," Fulton told co-host Bill Polian and me on SiriusXM NFL Radio. "He's a playmaker. He's a little raw, but he plays off his instincts. They've got him this far. It’s going to be exciting to see what he does."

Fulton and Hunt also are impressed by Mahomes' passion toward football, which is reflected in his practice performances.
"He's gonna bring a spark," Hunt said. "He has a lot of juice. I don't know if there's a person in this world who loves the game more than him.
"And he really does not like losing."

Mahomes now will try to break the cycle of postseason failure that is far too familiar for Chiefs fans. A 22-21 home loss to Tennessee last season marked the 10th time Kansas City went one-and-done in its past 11 playoff appearances, dating back to 1994.

The Chiefs have made significant offseason roster changes in hopes of moving closer to their first championship appearance since Super Bowl IV. One of them was giving Mahomes a new fleet-footed target to work with through the free-agent signing of wide receiver Sammy Watkins.

"We're gonna be even more explosive," Hunt said. "You know we've got some weapons out there, Tyreek (Hill) and Travis (Kelce), too. That’s a lot of speed out there."

A more dangerous deep passing game to scare defenses should make Hunt even more effective than he was during a breakout 2017 campaign in which he set the Chiefs rookie rushing record with 1,327 yards. Despite such success, Hunt believes he has plenty of room for improvement heading into his second season.

"I'm gonna work on the little things like some of my reads in the run game and things just before the play even starts making sure I know what I've got to do in receiving and in pass (blocking)," said Hunt, who also caught 53 passes for 455 yards and three touchdowns last year. "I feel like there are some times during the middle of the season that I left some yards out there."

Hunt did give himself the chance to reflect on the positives of his first NFL season by returning to Mobile for acceptance of the Senior Bowl's Rookie of the Year award. Hunt said his 118-yard rushing performance in that all-star college game provided a huge boost to his draft stock.
For example, Kansas City hadn't even interviewed Hunt in Mobile. That changed a month later at the NFL Combine.
"(Interest) started picking up for me a little bit after I had a big game at the Senior Bowl," said Hunt, who ultimately was selected in the third round out of Toledo. “People wanted to start meeting with me, having me visit and stuff like that. It definitely meant a lot."

MOCK DRAFT 2018:

Hunt allows that Kansas City's offense "might change a little bit" this season with Watkins’ arrival and the stronger-armed Mahomes replacing Smith. But just how many tweaks made by coach Andy Reid and new offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy won't be known until down the road.

"I'm just gonna let them do their job and coach and I'm gonna be ready to put our team in a position to win,” Hunt said.
And, along the way, try to take a few strokes off his golf game to start getting the better of Mahomes away from Chiefs headquarters