The Kansas City Chiefs are riding high after clinching their second consecutive Super Bowl championship in 2023, but it wasn't all smooth sailing for the powerhouse team. Quarterback Patrick Mahomes acknowledged the team's offensive inconsistency during the past season, and he's determined to prepare better for the upcoming challenges.
Training Camp Preparations Underway
With the NFL season just around the corner, the Chiefs are already in the thick of their training camp preparations. Beginning for quarterbacks and rookies on Wednesday at Missouri Western State University, the full team is set to join the camp on Sunday. Mahomes, the team's lynchpin, emphasized the importance of maintaining a high level of intensity and focus throughout the camp.
"We're back at St. Joe. It's time to get better," Mahomes said. "Every season starts differently. You've got to come in with that same mentality you had the year before, even with a higher intensity and even though we won the Super Bowl last year, we felt like we didn't play our best football, especially offensively. So it's our goal to be better that way and coming in with that mentality every single day."
New Faces in the Offensive Lineup
The Chiefs have added two standout wide receivers to their offensive arsenal: free agent Marquise Brown and rookie sensation Xavier Worthy. Worthy, who set a new event record with a blistering 4.21-second 40-yard dash at the scouting combine, has already caught the eye of the team's coaching staff and fanbase alike.
However, a sore hamstring has kept Worthy sidelined for most of the offseason practice sessions. Despite this setback, Mahomes is confident in the young receiver’s potential and the depth of competition within the squad.
"There's no easing [him in]. He's going to have to be ready to go. We got a lot of competition on this offense," Mahomes asserted. "He got a lot of mental work in these last few weeks that he had during OTAs and minicamp, but it's time to go now. Y'all saw it with Rashee [Rice] last year and some of the throwing-up days he had. We're going to push you to the limit and prepare yourself to be ready to go for the season. That's not just him. That's everybody and everybody has to have that mentality when they come into camp."
Striving for Consistency
Reflecting on last season, Mahomes expressed a mix of satisfaction and unease. While the ultimate goal was achieved, the journey was fraught with challenges and inconsistencies that the team aims to address this upcoming season.
"The end result [last season] was awesome, but I think a lot of us still have a weird feeling in our mouth," Mahomes admitted. "It wasn't fun every single week having to try to just continue to get better and better and the results not paying off the way you wanted to. We have a lot of those same guys back and they know how that felt, so we're going to try to prepare ourselves better this year so that we can play better throughout the season and obviously try to end with the same result."
The Chiefs' intensive approach to training camp is designed to combat the inconsistency that plagued their previous season. Testing their mettle daily against what Mahomes believes is the best defense in the NFL is part of this rigorous preparation.
"We added a lot of speed. What's better than going against our defense? It's the best defense in the NFL and we get to go against them every single day and really show where we're at and how we can get better," he noted.
Family Milestones
On a personal note, Mahomes and his wife Brittany are expecting their third child, a milestone that brings a different kind of joy and fulfillment to the star quarterback's life.
"It's awesome. I always wanted to have kids young. I got to grow up in the locker room," Mahomes shared. "I think I've talked about it before and it made such an impact in my life and so I wanted to have kids young and we're having our third kid now to join our family. Brittany does a great job of doing that and we still go out and enjoy our life and let our kids see these great things they might not be able to remember what videos of and it is really cool. I spend so much time in the building at football for these seven, eight months and whenever I'm with my family, I want to enjoy those moments."
However, the Mahomes family seems to have reached its limit. "I'm done. I'll say that. I said three and I'm done," Mahomes concluded.
As the Chiefs gear up for another shot at glory, the blend of seasoned veterans and speedy new recruits promises a dynamic and thrilling season ahead. With Mahomes at the helm, the team's drive for excellence and consistency remains as unyielding as ever.