Patrick Mahomes is well on his way to joining the ranks of the all-time great NFL quarterbacks, with the Kansas City Chiefs star having just won his third Super Bowl title and MVP award.
The 28-year-old has already played in four Super Bowls and has never exited the playoffs earlier than the AFC Championship game as a starter. Mahomes boasts a jaw-dropping resume that any quarterback would love to finish his career with — and he's still very much in his prime.
While Mahomes had a standout college career, his rapid ascent into a generational talent in the professional ranks wasn't foreseen by everyone. One person who did see it was Michael Vick, who worked with Mahomes shortly after he was drafted by the Chiefs.
After four-time Pro Bowler Vick retired as a player in 2017, he was brought on as a coaching intern for training camp by Kansas City head coach Andy Reid, and he naturally spent a lot of time with the quarterbacks. Mahomes was about to enter his rookie season, but Vick saw something special in the young Texan.
"I always take so much from when Mike Vick talks to us," Mahomes told reporters after receiving his Super Bowl LVIII MVP award from NFL commissioner Roger Goodell.
"I built up a relationship with him when he came in and was kind of in that assistant spot in training camp and in the QB room every single day.
"I remember the first thing he told me was 'hey, you're gonna be special but look at that big man right there, he's gonna take you to another level.'"
The "big man" in question was Reid, who was Vick's head coach when both were part of the Philadelphia Eagles team from 2009 to 2012.
"I remember, coming from [Vick], someone I had watched my entire life, I was like, 'man, if he's saying it I know he's saying the right things,'" Mahomes added. "So I took that and ran with it."
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