Bills’ owner did something unusual the first time he met Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes
The Chiefs were aware of quarterback Patrick Mahomes’ enormous talent well before other NFL teams, but as the 2017 draft neared, he also had made an impression on others in the league.
Broncos coach Sean Payton has previously said he would have picked Mahomes when Payton was still in charge of the New Orleans Saints. The Arizona Cardinals also were eyeing Mahomes in the draft.
Before either of those teams could pick Mahomes, the Chiefs swooped in and selected him after trading up with the Buffalo Bills.
While they couldn’t have known it at the time, the Bills have since been eliminated in the playoffs three times by Mahomes and the Chiefs since that deal was made.
And Mahomes again will try to beat the Bills when the Chiefs face Buffalo on Sunday at Highmark Stadium. It’s the biggest game on the NFL’s Week 11 schedule.
Here’s the thing: The Bills worked out Mahomes ahead of the draft and Buffalo owner Terry Pegula was blown away by what he saw that day in Lubbock, Texas.
Dave Culley, the former Houston Texans head coach, was the Bills quarterbacks coach in 2017. On the “Love You Bro!” podcast, Culley shared a story about how Pegula was captivated by Mahomes.
“We go down to Texas Tech,” Culley said. “We get there the night before, we have dinner with him, some cowpoke restaurant obviously in West Texas. Might have been the only one they had down there. ... Then the next morning, we’re going to get up and go work him out in the stadium. And the day we got up to go work him out at the stadium, the wind’s blowing. Tumbleweeds are going all over the place.
“We go into the stadium and he’s got a receiver out there that is working with him and running routes. And we’re going through this, and the wind is going like crazy. I mean, this kid is throwing the ball through the wind like it’s nothing. And I’m talking about, he has one of the most unbelievable workouts, and we were so worried because the conditions were not good to really evaluate and see him.”
Those conditions, however, caught the attention of the Bills brass, because weather is frequently a factor in Buffalo on game day.
And Mahomes knocked the socks off Pegula, who had joined the Bills front office as they did pre-draft workouts with college quarterbacks.
“All of a sudden this kid’s making all these throws, and when it was all said and done, Mr. Pegula was so enamored with this kid,” Culley said. “And he was actually I think the last one we (worked out), because we were working our way back towards Buffalo. And when it was all over, Mr. Pegula, goes up to Patrick and says, ‘Can I take a picture with you?‘
“Listen now: this is the owner of the Buffalo Bills. This kid is coming out (in the draft). Patrick Mahomes was the only guy that Mr. Pagula asked to take a picture with during all those trips.”
It’s kind of wild to think about the Bills owner asking Mahomes for a photo. One can only wonder if Pegula still has that picture.
The video of Culley sharing that story was posted to YouTube.
This story was originally published November 11, 2024 at 11:53 AM.
