Q: Are there things that tell you that the passing game is going to be what you hoped it would be last year and how confident are you that you can get to that point?
MAHOMES: “Obviously, everything looks great right now. I mean, getting the guys back healthy as far as Rashee (Rice) and having Hollywood (Brown) fully healthy and Xavier (Worthy) in year two – I think the offense has the chance to be really, really good. It’s just about keeping building – I’m excited to kind of have these guys again just with – we’ve had a lot of turnover in the receiving room, and it seems like the core group will be back in its entirety. So, the goal is to try to build on it and get even better and try to get back to some of the explosive passing plays that we’ve done in years past.”
Q: How is Rashee Rice looking and what are your expectations for him coming off the injury?
MAHOMES: “The expectations are high. I mean, he (Rashee Rice) looks really good, he’s running routes, he’s catching the football. I don’t know when we get back into the actual OTA’s how much he’ll be able to do, but he’s been able to do everything here as far as running routes and everything like that. I know it was unfortunate how he got hurt last year, but it was so early in the season that he’s going to get pretty much a complete offseason, which I think will be big going into this season.”
Q: When you look back at the explosive pass game last year, how would you diagnose that?
MAHOMES: “I don’t feel like we got to the goal that we wanted to. I think the injuries definitely affected it a little bit, but my goal is to be better and try to give guys chances down the field. I mean, if you look at the only real positive, I think, from the Super Bowl was the second half of me just kind of getting back to we have to throw the ball deep, we have to push the envelope, and you saw Xavier (Worthy) making some big plays down the field. Trying to take positives away from that and from the rest of the season as well is we got the guys. It’s about me trusting them, making the throws downfield and letting them make plays.”
Q: How do you map out this time with the guys?
MAHOMES: “It changes a little bit. I mean, I think we start off with some therapy in the morning, some stuff to get the guy’s bodies right, get a nice workout in and then get to the field and once you – even though we’re not in-person, we’re still doing virtual meetings. So, you know what the coaches are talking about and it’s about taking those routes to the field, explaining it to them the way I see it and the way that coaches see it and so that when we get back in the building here in a couple weeks, guys have a jumpstart of what we want, what we expect and how we’re going to go about our business. Like I said, it helps that this year it’s a lot of the same receivers that I’ve worked with previously, so not a ton of teaching. A lot of guys know what they need to do, it’s just refining their skills.”
Q: Is there any difference in motivation for you after coming off a Super Bowl loss rather than a Super Bowl win?
MAHOMES: “Yeah, I mean, I’m pretty motivated anyways, but I think when you get some of those tiring sets or tiring reps that you’re in the workout, you have something in the back of your mind that you’re kind of pushing towards. You have that bad taste in your mouth from the last time you stepped on the football field and you kind of have to hear about it all offseason, so it gives you the push that you want to go out there and be better and show what we’re really about.”
Q: What do you feel like are your own points of emphasis this offseason and what are you trying to enhance?
MAHOMES: “There was opportunities in games for deep shots that I either didn’t take or we missed barely, and I think if we can get back to hitting some of those throws – we preached about this last offseason, it opens up the rest of the offense. That helps the run game, that helps the medium-pass game – everything. You want to get back to that, defenses are starting to creep up a little bit more and force us to get back to the deep throws. We have to be versatile enough to be able to do both, hit the deep shots and hit the underneath stuff and that’s when we’ll be at our best.”
Q: How well do you know Gardner Minshew and what different perspective does he bring to the quarterback room?
MAHOMES: “I’ve obviously just kind of met him (Gardner Minshew) through passing. He’s been down here working with us, and I feel like we’re going to have a really good quarterback room just in general. I think having Gardner, a guy that loves the game, comes in with the right mentality every single day and a guy that pushes the envelope kind of like what we’ve been talking about. I think having someone that’s going to push me to take chances down the field, it’ll be big to continue to work and build our chemistry on the field but also push each other on it as well.”
Q: On seeing things that defenses don’t even do now and maybe knowing too much.
MAHOMES: “Yeah, in a sense. I mean, I think just this last year especially – sometimes you give guys too much credit and knowing what the coverage is and how it’s supposed to be played and you know what your reads are. At the same time, you still have to go through your progression and that’s something that I have to continue to do. So, even if it’s a two-high coverage or whatever it is, there’s still chances for me to throw the ball down the field. I have to go through the progressions the right way and trust in the play call and trust in the protection and that’s something that I’ll try to get back to this year and stuff that I have to continue to get better at.”
Q: Regarding the left tackle issues last season, what was that like for you? What do you like about the moves that have been made so far in this offseason?
MAHOMES: “It’s guys that were battling, that were trying to find their spot in the NFL to compete and be great. I thought guys did good jobs, obviously the Super Bowl left a bad taste in everybody’s mouth, but I thought throughout the season guys stepped up and made big plays happen and protected when they needed to protect. I think this year just trying to solidify the group. Bringing in a guy like Jaylon Moore, a guy that’s played some snaps (and) learned under (49ers OT) Trent Williams, someone that we have big expectations for. It’s just you get a core group of guys that you want to solidify, and you never can account for injuries and stuff like that but hopefully a group that will be together throughout the entire year. When you look at the great offensive lines a lot of times it’s a unit, it’s everybody, it’s not just one guy here or there. We’re excited for it, there will be healthy competition in camp, but we’ll find the five right guys that we’ll go with, and we’ll have guys behind them ready to go as well.”
Q: On his new haircut.
MAHOMES: “I’ve wanted to do it for a while but it was kind of one of those superstitions, I kept winning the Super Bowl which is a good thing but I didn’t want to cut the hair while I was doing it. I told everybody during the season that win or lose, if we win three in a row or if we lose, I’m getting a haircut like that’s enough. I’m very excited. I’ve looked at some videos from last year and I can’t believe all you guys let me keep that nappy hair for so long, like I look way better now with the short hair, so I’ll be keeping this going forward.”
Q: What was your draft experience like?
MAHOMES: “I get to spend it back at home, I was very – we were talking about it actually today when we were throwing with some of the guys. I was very excited to be able to spend it with the people that I grew up with and the people that believed in me. Being able to get drafted by the Chiefs and – the team that I wanted to draft me and draft me 10th overall, it was super exciting. You’re so nervous all day long. I remember I played a round of golf in the morning; I don’t remember one shot from that golf round, you’re just trying to keep your mind off of it. Then you live out your dream and you find out where you’re going to go. I got to do it with that people that were special to me and (that’s) a moment that I’ll have, and they’ll have for the rest of our lives.”
Q: How much feedback do you give on the draft prospects?
MAHOMES: “I talk to (General Manager) Brett Veach a lot of times about just the guys that he’s looking at and the thought process of the draft, but I let those guys make the decisions. I mean (Head) Coach (Andy) Reid has done it for a long time, Veach has done it for a long time. They’ve got a lot of great players around me and if they want me to give my input on guys, I’ll watch film and give input. At the end of the day, they know what’s best for the team and they’re going to go out there and pick the guys they think are going to keep us Super Bowl contenders.”
Q: What was it like having Hollywood Brown have to miss so much of the season? How excited are you to have him back?
MAHOMES: “You all saw it in training camp, how special of a football player he (Hollywood Brown) is. He did everything the right way, was in the building early, was in the building late, was teaching other guys. For him to get injured in kind of a freak deal there in the first play of the preseason, and just, it stunk. I was happy to have him back at the end of the season and him to get back within the offense. I think now with hopefully him having the full offseason and training camp and keep staying healthy and continuing to fight through, his role will expand even more. I mean it’s kind of hard to throw guys in at the end of the season and try to give them a huge role. I think you can see when he gets the football in his hands and he has a huge role in our offense, it makes everybody go. Excited for him and also that receiving room just in general are all really good friends and want each other to have success. I think we can be one of the better receiver rooms in the league with the guys that we have in it.”
Q: After the season, how fast do you get back into training?