AFC Notes: Chiefs, Ravens, Titans

Chiefs

Chiefs OC Eric Bieniemy spoke about evaluating Patrick Mahomes while he was at Texas Tech, mentioning that GM Brett Veach and former Chiefs OC and current Bears HC Matt Nagy would often make sure to watch him. 

“My first time actually hearing about it and knowing that there was a huge interest in Pat, was a few years ago when we would sit around on Thursday nights, and the BIG 12 showcase will come on,” Bieniemy said, via Ed Easton Jr. of ChiefsWire. “And that would be Texas Tech versus whoever. And I had an opportunity to watch him play a number of times. Brett Veach used to come down and say, ‘Hey, you know, Texas Tech is coming on.’ Matt Nagy used to come down, ‘Hey, make sure you’re watching the game.’ And so we were just amazed at the numbers that he was putting up. And it was just unbelievable. And it just wasn’t about the numbers. It was the throws that he was making as well. And we knew— I knew that he would be special. Did I ever think that we would have an opportunity to get him? I didn’t know that. But I knew, whoever got him; that team will be blessed.”

Bieniemy said Mahomes’ success in the NFL never came as a surprise to the people around the Chiefs organization. 

“You know what, it was just about the everyday get-together and us planning that offseason,” Bieniemy said. “We just wanted to make sure that everything that we did and he can function at a high level and just go out there and play. But my impression was like, ‘Man, this is going to be fun.’ Because when you had an opportunity to watch him make some of the throws that he was making on the scout team, ‘Hey man, this is just, this is unreal.’ So I was looking forward to the challenge of working with the competitor because that’s one thing I do know about it. But on top of that, I was looking forward to just watching his day to day business and how he conducts himself at work, which I knew that he would take care of himself just because of the reputation that he had when he was at Tech, and then watching him work his first year. So I was excited and fired up, and everything that we knew what he would be, he has been. And the thing that I love about him is the professionalism that he brings to the building.”

Ravens

Ravens’ HC John Harbaugh says he is “very happy” with rookie Ben Mason, who may see playing time as a fullback, halfback, or even at tight end.

“You try to draft to your team, and as a fullback/h-back/move tight end-type guy, which is what you do in the NFL at that position, he fits us,” Harbaugh said, via RavensWire.com. “Maybe he doesn’t fit everybody, but he fits us that way. I think he’s the kind of player that’s going to show up more when the pads come on than he does when the shorts are on, but I think he improved tremendously throughout the course of what we did with the shorts on. So, you just let him work hard, learn and get better and see what he looks like probably in the preseason games – that will be a very telling thing for Ben. He’s doing a great job. I’m very happy with him.”

Titans

• Terry McCormick of TitanInsider.com shares his concerns about the lack of depth that the Titans have on their defensive line behind starters Bud Dupree, Jeffery Simmons, Denico Autry, and Harold Landry.
• When it comes to depth, the team has a mostly unproven group consisting of Teair Tart, Larrell Murchison, Trevon Coley, Bruce Hector, Naquan Jones, and Woodrow Hamilton.