Patrick Mahomes is arguably the best and most famous football player currently plying his trade in the NFL. Because of that, his family has become famous-adjacent too. But while Mahomes is about as inoffensive and reserved a superstar as you’ll see, his family hasn’t exactly followed suit.
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His wife, Brittany Mahomes, has had her iffy moments in the spotlight — his father, Pat Mahomes, loves himself a DUI — and his brother Jackson Mahomes’ TikTok dances have caused collective eyerolls that could shake the very foundations of the earth. But did you know he actually has another family member you probably haven’t heard about? His half-brother, Graham Walker, played tight end at Rice in 2024.
Mahomes’ brother, through their father (the aforementioned Pat), Walker was far from a star at Rice in 2024. He recorded just 24 catches for 252 yards. Not exactly first-round numbers. And yet, he’s going to get his NFL shot, nonetheless. He was invited to take part in a large-scale tryout at rookie minicamp for — yep, you guessed it — his brother’s Kansas City Chiefs.
K.C.’s rookie minicamp took place over three days, from May 3-5. Most importantly, the rookie minicamp is a time for drafted players to begin learning and installing the new playbook so they’re not too far behind when the veterans arrive.
However, it also serves as a tryout for fringe players hoping to make the 90-man preseason roster in August. There were 87 participants at the Chiefs’ rookie minicamp this year, 60 of whom were there on a tryout basis… Including Walker.
Walker had a down year after transferring to Rice in 2024, but he’d shown some flashes in previous seasons. When he was at Brown, in 2023, he had 44 catches for 515 yards and six touchdowns. As a freshman in 2021, he’d gone for 53 catches, 658 yards, and six touchdowns. There’s something there, but of course, as Mahomes’ half-brother, there are going to be claims of nepotism.
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While most fans commenting on the post were either unbothered or more bothered by the distinction between brother and half-brother—evidently, half-brother is not a term to be used anymore—some noted the nepotism factor. “Nepotism at its finest,” said one user, while another simply labeled Walker, “Nepo baby.”
Another pointed out that this is pretty common practice in pro sports: “Professional sports are filled with nepotism, look at Deion and sons.”
And they really are. Like any industry, nepotism is alive and well in the NFL. While that’s not ideal, it’s not like this tryout for Walker is one of the worst instances. We’ve seen countless fathers literally hand jobs on their coaching staff to their sons. Walker only got a no-strings-attached tryout alongside 60 other hopeful players.
And if we’re being honest, nepotism makes a lot more sense when you’re talking about athletic pedigree than in any other situation in the politics or business world, where it is even more prevalent.
Athletics are often about genetics, so if you’re related to someone who has professional sporting genes, it’s worth kicking the tires on you. Walker’s brother is the best QB in the game. And let’s not forget their father, Pat, played 11 years as a pro ball-player in the MLB, recording 452 strikeouts as a pitcher.
