How Patrick Mahomes, Orlando Brown found a connection. And why it’s key for Chiefs
On a recent day at Chiefs training camp, as the team’s third-stringers completed a hurry-up drill, two players stood well behind the play, otherwise alone, having a conversation —quarterback Patrick Mahomes and his new left tackle, Orlando Brown.
Eventually, two guys done with their portion of practice were in motion, and Mahomes was simulating a dropback, imaginary football in his hands and everything.
It’s been something of a regular sight on the Missouri Western State practice fields, as a 25-year-old quarterback and newly-acquired left tackle build the foundation of one of the Chiefs’ most important — and closely evaluated — relationships of 2021.
“He’s trying to get a good feel,” Mahomes said. “He’ll try something one day and ask if I liked it, and I’ll tell him the truth — and he wants to hear that so he can know how I’m feeling throughout the game.”
Brown has spent the majority of his career blocking on the right side of the offensive line — and blocking for a quarterback who leads an offense quite different from this one. Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson is willing, almost eager, to run with the football. The Chiefs would prefer Mahomes run it as little as possible. They’re just fine with him resting deeper in the pocket, going through his reads.
The contrast requires some adjustments in footwork, Brown has said, but it also requires some plain getting used to. During those conversations, Mahomes has told Brown where he prefers to sit in the pocket on certain throws and therefore where he’d like Brown to send a potential edge rusher.
Brown has used practice repetitions to work on very specific parts of his game to account for the changes — new quarterback, new position — even to the detriment of losing some on-one-one drills.
“It’s always good to know where your quarterback wants to be, what he wants to do, what he’s thinking in certain situations,” Brown said. “That can help me react or put my player wherever I need to put him so (Mahomes) can do what he does best.”
Mahomes has spent the bulk of training camp trying to stay in the pocket as often as possible — to make scrambling a last resort, not a first option. It’s a typical point of emphasis in camps, but particularly this season after he judged he too often departed the pocket in 2020.
“Orlando is great about talking about different things that he is trying and seeing how I like them,” Mahomes said. “Trying to build that relationship, build that kind of comfort with them. For me, I’ll always try to stay within the pocket, especially during training camp.”
As Chiefs coach Andy Reid weighs how much to play his starting quarterback over the preseason, the Mahomes-Brown relationship has been a factor. The timing with receivers has been built for years, with the team’s projected top four — Tyreek Hill, Mecole Hardman, Demarcus Robinson and Byron Pringle — all having played with Mahomes for multiple years. Add to that, a year ago, Mahomes did just fine in the regular season despite not taking a single snap in the preseason.
But this is different. He will play with five new linemen, and there’s something to be said for comfort. Acknowledging that, Reid said it’s fair to anticipate that Mahomes will play more than he did in Saturday’s preseason opener — though that won’t take much, considering he took just four snaps.
Scoring, as Mahomes put it, is always the goal. But in preseason, there are some more important things to accomplish. The communication with his offensive line ranks among the most critical.
“It’s just different types of sets, different types of ways he’s trying to wash guys down around the edge or whatever it is, and he just gets to see where I’m comfortable at,” Mahomes said. “I mean, (Brown) has played with great quarterback with Lamar and Baker (Mayfield at Oklahoma). He’s played with great quarterbacks in his lifetime, and we’re all a little bit different.”