Michigan Football: Shea Patterson will have a shot with Chiefs

Former Michigan football starting quarterback Shea Patterson didn’t get drafted but he did wind up in a great spot for his NFL career with the Chiefs.

It took a lot longer than expected for former Michigan football quarterback Shea Patterson to wind up with an NFL team. But when you really think about it, he couldn’t have found a better home than with Kansas City as a rookie free agent.

You might wonder how that could be with Patrick Mahomes firmly entrenched as the Chiefs starter. Heck, at this rate, Mahomes is on his way to being the best player in the history of the franchise. Until something drastic happens to him, he’s not going anywhere.

But that’s exactly what makes the Chiefs such a good fit for the Chiefs and Patterson. As we have seen, when you have a younger quarterback like Mahomes, one that commands a massive deal, such as Aaron Rodgers, it’s hard to pay for a veteran backup. You can only invest so much money in one position after all.

So investing in a talented, but flawed prospect like Patterson makes a ton of sense. Shea may have regressed in his final season in Ann Arbor, yet, if he had elected to go pro after 2018, he likely would have been drafted at least.

And as Gil Brandt told the Detroit Free Press in a recent interview, Patterson has talent. “I thought he was a really good player,” Brandt told the Detroit Free Press. “As good as any.”

Brandt wasn’t alone. Plenty of analysts projected Patterson to be an NFL quarterback and why not? He seemed to have all the tools. He’s athletic, has got a strong arm and for most of his career, he’s been accurate.

However, Patterson has also been inconsistent. He’s bounced around between different offensive systems and he struggles to read defenses, which is something he’ll have to do at the next level.

But in Kansas City, he’ll get time to learn. Right away, Patterson can compete with former Michigan football standout Chad Henne for the backup job, yet it’s highly unlikely Patterson would win. He has practice squad or No. 3 quarterback written all over him and I don’t mean that as a slight.

Patterson has skills worth developing. In the pro-style system he played in as a junior, Patterson was effective. He completed 64.6 percent of his passes, averaging eight yards per attempt with 22 touchdowns and just seven interceptions. He also ran for 273 yards and two touchdowns, leading Michigan to 10 straight wins. Then the Ohio State game happened and his confidence seemed to fall apart.

In Kansas City, it can be rebuilt. He can learn from watching Mahomes and get tutored by Henne. If he plays well enough in the preseason or camp or whenever the NFL gets back on the field, he should have some kind of job in the NFL next season.

Andy Reid has a long history of developing quarterbacks. He coached Brett Favre, Donovan McNabb, Mark Brunell and a bunch others, not to mention, Mahomes. So Patterson is in good hands and if he performs really well, he could even earn a spot on the 53-man roster if the Chiefs are worried about another team nabbing him off the practice squad, where players are free to sign elsewhere.

It’s a long road for Patterson and he has a lot to work against. But if he can show promise early, the Chiefs would surely enjoy a long-term backup with a strong arm and athleticism who can mimic, at least a little, a few of the things Mahomes can do.

There obviously is no replacing Mahomes but Patterson was talented enough to be the No. 1 QB in the 2016 class at one time and with some time and development, the Chiefs might wind up with a nice value at backup quarterback. For them, it’s at least worth the chance they are taking.