Chiefs GM called Mahomes 'greatest player he'd ever seen' ahead of 2017 draft

Kansas City Chiefs general manager Brett Veach called Patrick Mahomes the greatest player he had ever seen while scouting the young pivot ahead of the 2017 NFL Draft.

"You knew he was going to be great," head coach Andy Reid said at Super Bowl Opening Night, according to ProFootballTalk's Michael David Smith. "Brett Veach said it - he's our general manager - he said he's the greatest player he'd ever seen. That's quite a tribute to the kid. Now that I've been around him, and you've watched him play, he's pretty doggone good."

The Chiefs drafted Mahomes 10th overall out of Texas Tech. They traded that year's first- and third-round picks along with a 2018 first-rounder to the Buffalo Bills to move up after Veach, then Kansas City's co-director of player personnel, convinced Reid and team brass to draft him.

"People thought I was crazy back in the combine, before he took a start, that I said he's the best player I've ever seen," Veach said after the AFC Championship Game. "He's the best player in the game, and I think it's not just me saying it now, it's the whole league."

Mahomes spent his rookie year learning behind Alex Smith before stepping into the starter's role as a sophomore. He responded to the promotion by winning NFL MVP honors in 2018, following it up by leading the Chiefs to Super Bowl LIV in his third pro season.

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