As the Kansas City Chiefs prepare to face the Buffalo Bills in the AFC Championship Game on Sunday, it’s the perfect time for a re-telling of how Patrick Mahomes came to be the franchise’s quarterback. Kansas City has a history of draft-related trades either with or to jump ahead of Buffalo in recent years.

Speaking with Brent Dougherty, Dawn Davenport, and Ron Slay on 3HL for 104.5 The Zone in Nashville, new Tennessee Titans GM Mike Borgonzi revealed some details about the team’s pursuit and acquisition of Mahomes. The former Chiefs Assistant General Manager, who served as Director of Player Personnel under John Dorsey and Brett Veach in 2017, was very involved in the process. He recalls that tensions were high leading up to the draft.

“Yeah, we were very nervous,” Borgonzi exclaimed. “I mean, we tried to get up to the top of the draft. We tried to get up to one, and we went down the list, you know, we got to 10, we got to Buffalo, and we leaked out that we were trading up for (Alabama LB) Reuben Foster. I don’t know if anybody believed it, but we leaked it out.”

Apparently, it was believable, at least to the right people. The Chiefs hosted Foster on a pre-draft visit, and Dorsey wasn’t exactly tight-lipped about the linebacker when he spoke to other personnel people across the league.

“We were sweating it out,” Borgonzi said. “Cincinnati was right in front of us. They took (John) Ross the receiver, and then we got on the clock. I actually called that trade in. So, yeah, no, we were on pins and needles that day, for sure.”

From Borgonzi’s perspective, which teams were the Chiefs’ main competition in landing Mahomes? The team felt their chances were pretty good at getting him if they could trade into the top-10 picks in the draft. However, the reason they explored trading all the way up to the No. 1 overall pick is that they didn’t want to risk the future of their franchise on a hunch.

“We really thought we had to get probably in front of Houston,” Borgonzi said. “And, we had heard that (former Saints HC) Sean Payton worked him out, and I think they were at 11, and we picked at 10. Houston was at 12. But yeah, we were really worried about those two teams. So we felt like if we got to 10 and got to Buffalo, it would be OK. But we’re still sweating out, though.”

They saw something special in Mahomes, and in hindsight, they were absolutely validated. They played their cards right, and all it took was trading up to No. 10 with the Bills.

“Yeah, we saw rare talent that just jumped out if you watched him,” Borgonzi said. “We saw rare instincts, pocket mobility, and ability to see receivers downfield. And I think he was just playing off of instincts, too. He’d probably be the first to tell you this, I don’t know if he was really reading coverages back then. So, you know, we knew that it was going to be the developmental part.”

Borgonzi gave immense credit to former Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith in the process. While he wasn’t involved in the scouting or selection of Mahomes, Smith’s handling of himself afterward is one reason that Mahomes is the quarterback he is today. 

“It was kind of like the perfect storm, because we had Alex (Smith) there, who is one of the best people you’d ever meet,” Borgonzi said. “And you know, once we drafted him (Patrick Mahomes), he (Alex Smith) pretty much knew that we got to be moving on from him in a year. And like I said, he was a Pro Bowl back, but he took Pat (Mahomes) under his wing the entire year. (He) really showed him how to be a pro — meetings, how to watch tape, read coverages, so he went through the whole thing with him.”

Ultimately, it all came down to having a plan, from trading to acquire Mahomes to his development once he arrived in Kansas City. The entire organization had a succinct vision of what could be, and they executed that vision under Andy Reid’s leadership.

“We knew that he needed work, but he had rare tools,” Borgonzi said. “And the leadership, too, was apparent. You know, he just had this way about him. When we brought him in on the visit, he was really smart. Then the guys at Texas Tech, like, loved him. They followed them. He was a leader. So, we just knew if we could clean up some things, and Coach (Andy Reid) said, ‘I’ll fix him.'”

With a seventh consecutive AFC Championship Game appearance on deck and a trip to Super Bowl LIX on the line, it’s safe to say that Reid fixed whatever Mahomes was lacking coming out of college.