Tech QB Mahomes stays busy and other visit notes … We note in an earlier post that Texas Tech Patrick Mahomes, who has visits or workouts planned with 18 teams prior to the draft, may be the ‘most interesting man’ in the draft. In fact, the legend of Mahomes, or at least his itinerary, continues to grow. The latest team to add their name to Mahomes’ dance card in Buffalo which will reportedly work him out later this week. The Bills, who have the 10th pick this year, did extend incumbent starter Tyrod Taylor earlier this year, but did little to hide the fact that they really wanted to upgrade the position prior to the extension. Meanwhile, Pittsburgh has also reportedly scheduled a work out with Mahomes. Like a lot of teams around the league, the Steelers may have to start to think about finding a future replacement for aging veteran Ben Roethlisberger who reportedly considered retiring this off-season. However, the Steelers, who have the 30th pick this year, may not have much a shot at Mahomes as there is a growing buzz around the league that he is closing in on a possible top ten grade. And if Mahomes is currently the most ‘popular’ 2017 draft prospect these days, enigmatic Oklahoma RB Joe Mixon may not be all that far behind. Like Mahomes, Mixon reportedly has had visits or workouts with more than half the teams around the league. This week, for example, he’ll be visiting Jacksonville along with LSU’s Leonard Fournette and Dalvin Cook, the top-two rated backs in this year’s draft. Mixon will also be working out with Cleveland. Mixon, of course, is one of the most polarizing players in the 2017 draft with at least two teams – Miami and New England – indicating he’s not on their board at all in the wake of a 2014 domestic assault conviction. However, Mixon may be as physically talented as any back in this year’s draft and it appears that more and more teams are seriously looking at him as an early-to-mid second round candidate who could conceivably sneak into the latter part of the opening round. Elsewhere, Carolina, which has the 8th pick overall, has reportedly worked out Alabama TE O.J. Howard, while Kansas City has met with Clemson QB Deshaun Watson. It’s also interesting to note that while Cleveland is pretty much a lock to take Texas A&M DE Myles Garrett with this year’s first pick overall, he’ll still make visits to places like San Francisco and Jacksonville, which have the 2nd and 4th picks respectively, just in case.
