![\"Patrick](\"https:\/\/www.kansascity.com\/latest-news\/tu2ls1\/picture274654486\/alternates\/LANDSCAPE_1140\/NFL2017DRAFT.jpg\")
<\/p>\nAhead of the 2017 NFL Draft, SB Nation listed what it saw as the top four quarterbacks available to teams. In order, they were Deshaun Watson, Mitchell Trubisky, DeShone Kizer and Patrick Mahomes.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The Arizona Republic asked readers to vote on the best quarterback in the draft that year and didn\u2019t even include Mahomes as an option.<\/p>\n
Mahomes had heard the doubters that spring, so he penned an essay on The Players Tribune, making a case for why teams shouldn\u2019t shy away from drafting him.<\/p>\n
Here is an excerpt from what Mahomes wrote seven years ago as he made promises about his future:<\/p>\n
\u201cEverything that critics want to knock me on, I know I can fix with hard work. I am not a project quarterback. People who say that aren\u2019t really watching my tape. I know that I can make any throw, especially when my team needs a big play.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn three years at Texas Tech, I learned a lot about leading an offense. So much of that has to do with earning respect in the locker room. Leaders set an example for others. I don\u2019t expect to walk in and know everything on the first day of training camp, but I am ready to get started on that process. Right away you\u2019ll see the type of player I am and, more important, the type of player I want to be in the huddle.<\/p>\n
\u201cI hope the main thing you noticed when you were looking at my college stats was that I improved in every major category each season. That\u2019s what I\u2019m most proud of. I won\u2019t try to predict the future, but I guarantee you that if there\u2019s one thing I do know, it\u2019s how to get better.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd I know that if I want to walk in and make an immediate impact, my mindset has to be that I have to continue to improve every day, every practice, every snap. I\u2019m determined to do that.<\/p>\n
\u201cI will not whine or complain during the process. I won\u2019t be a distraction, on or off the field.<\/p>\n
\u201cI will put in the hours to master your playbook. I won\u2019t stop until I get everything right, down to the smallest detail.<\/p>\n
\u201cI may make mistakes along the way. And I won\u2019t win every single game I play during my career. I won\u2019t retire with a perfect passer rating or zero career interceptions. But I\u2019ll try as hard as anybody.\u201d<\/p>\n
Those words have proved to be true.<\/p>\n
The Chiefs traded up for Mahomes and took him with the 10th overall pick. For nearly his entire rookie season, Mahomes sat behind Alex Smith, kept quiet and learned the playbook. Mahomes was never a distraction.<\/p>\n
Since Mahomes has become the Chiefs\u2019 starter, they have won three Super Bowls, four AFC Championships and six AFC West titles. Teammates have raved about his leadership skills.<\/p>\n
Mahomes wrapped up his essay with this thought, which we now know was on the mark.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m ready to start the journey to a championship,\u201d Mahomes wrote. \u201cAnd, more than anything else in the world, I\u2019m ready to suit up and play some football. The sooner we can get to it, the better.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust wait until you see me in the huddle.\u201d<\/p>\n
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