Raiders new head coach Jon Gruden had high praise for Chiefs new QB Patrick Mahomes this time last year

There’s no question the Chiefs thought very highly of Patrick Mahomes. They gave up a LOT to jump up from the 27th overall pick to get Mahomes at 10th overall.

They sent the Bills the 27th overall pick along with the Chiefs’ third round pick (91 overall) in this draft and their first round pick in the upcoming draft.

It was a bit of a shocker at the time to make such a decisive move. Mahomes was the second QB taken off the board behind Mitchell Trubisky at number two overall. The Texans also needed a QB and the Chiefs knew they would need to jump ahead of them at 12 to get their man. The Texans ended up selecting DeShaun Watson as the third and final first round QB in the 2017 draft.

The Chiefs weren’t the only ones who really liked Mahomes. Raiders new head coach Jon Gruden spoke pretty highly of him as well.

“I think Mahomes is the most interesting player I’ve seen in this draft,” Gruden told ESPN. “He has incredible arm talent, he’s a gun slinger, an old school gun slinger. He’s worth the price of admission. And when he gets it all figured out he’ll be a great pro.”

It’s interesting because with Alex Smith traded to Washington, now Gruden will be facing Mahomes twice a year for the foreseeable future. He’ll get to see first hand if his and the Chiefs’ assessment of Mahomes’s talent was correct.