2017 NFL Draft: Kansas City Chiefs final grade
By John Buhler
The Kansas City Chiefs opted to get their next franchise quarterback at No. 10 in Patrick Mahomes. Here is the 2017 NFL Draft grade for Kansas City.
It had been since the famous 1983 NFL Draft where six quarterbacks went in the first round for the Kansas City Chiefs to finally bite the bullet and draft themselves a franchise quarterback in 2017. Kansas City traded up to No. 10 with the Buffalo Bills to take Texas Tech Red Raiders fireballer Patrick Mahomes as the heir apparent to Alex Smith.
Overall, Kansas City had six picks in the 2017 NFL Draft, even after trading up to No. 10 to be bold and grab Mahomes. Kansas City has a strong roster otherwise, so the Chiefs didn’t really have any glaring holes besides a future starting quarterback this spring.
Here is the 2017 NFL Draft grade for what Kansas City did this weekend.
First Round
Patrick Mahomes II
Quarterback, Texas Tech Red Raiders
At this time last year, who would have thought that an Air Raid quarterback would be going in the top-10? Even stranger, who would have thought that an ultra-conservative AFC franchise like Kansas City would be the team to do it?
Then again, this is the same Chiefs organization that took a gamble on Tyreek Hill last spring as well. Frankly, what it came down to was that head coach Andy Reid and general manager John Dorsey came to the realization that Smith is not going to win Kansas City a Super Bowl.
Reid used to coach some guy named Brett Favre when he worked for the Green Bay Packers. Mahomes is as raw as Favre was coming out of Southern Miss in the early 1990s, but he seems to have a level of maturity that Atlanta Favre could not handle.
Don’t expect to see Mahomes take the gridiron in any meaningful snaps in 2017. Only a season-ending injury to Smith would force Mahomes into the starting role. His right arm and improvisational abilities give reason for Chiefs to be exciting about the future. If he’s even half of what Derek Carr is for the Oakland Raiders, then it was worth it for the Chiefs to trade up to select Mahomes at No. 10.