DeAndre Washington's Familiarity With Patrick Mahomes Should Pump up Chiefs Fans
By Jerry Trotta
With veteran LeSean McCoy not expected to return next season, the Kansas City Chiefs inked a deal with free agent running back DeAndre Washington, formerly of the Las Vegas Raiders, to backup first stringer Damien Williams in 2020.
While most of Chiefs Kingdom is worried about how this signing could impact the team's draft plans, they should be rejoicing about Washington's evident rapport with quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
The players were teammates at Texas Tech for two seasons, and Washington offered up an eye-opening assessment of Mahomes' evolution in Lubbock.
New Chiefs RB DeAndre Washington played two seasons with Patrick Mahomes at Texas Tech. His first thoughts on the young QB weren’t favorable. “I remember Patrick’s first few days of practice he was kind of just running around playing backyard football . . .
— Adam Teicher (@adamteicher) April 15, 2020
For a player who had never witnessed Mahomes' revolutionary style of play, Washington's initial criticism of the superstar gunslinger was definitely justified.
However, those doubts didn't last very long.
Washington said Mahomes soon won him over. “Once those lights came on, I just feel like he took his game to another level . . . He was able to make a lot of plays that most guys couldn’t.’’
— Adam Teicher (@adamteicher) April 15, 2020
That sounds about right.
In the two seasons Washington shared with Mahomes at TTU (2014 and 2015), the latter threw for over 6,000 and 52 touchdowns compared to 19 interceptions.
“I was one of his biggest supporters. I used to tell guys who didn’t really know about him that this kid is different. It kind of didn’t resonate with a lot of guys until he got that first season under his belt and then they were like, ‘OK, well, I see what you mean now.’
— Adam Teicher (@adamteicher) April 15, 2020
Ahead of his decision to join the Chiefs, Washington reached out to Mahomes for some last minute guidance. It's quite apparent that the 2018 MVP persuaded him to sign without breaking a sweat.
Expect the familiarity between the two players to extend to the gridiron in due time. Kansas City diehards have every reason to be pumped about this reunion.