Each NFL team’s biggest reason to be excited in 2018
Kansas City Chiefs – A new quarterback
The Chiefs put the writing on the wall for Alex Smith by trading up to get Patrick Mahomes in the first round of the 2017 draft. After one start in a meaningless Week 17 game, and a broader internal appraisal of his work behind the scenes, Mahomes was given the keys to Andy Reid’s offense as Smith was traded to the Washington Redskins.
Early in training camp, there has already been the requisite overreaction to Mahomes’ every move (and mistakes).
Patrick Mahomes threw another interception at Chiefs practice Thursday, with safety Daniel Sorensen making the pick. That’s eight in seven training camp practices for the Mahomes. Coach Andy Reid said he wasn’t concerned about the number of... https://t.co/XeD8YIEBd1
— Adam Teicher (@adamteicher) August 2, 2018
Every time Patrick Mahomes throws a pick or a touchdown, can we not all go careening over the edge of the Grand Canyon with a gigantic overreaction. It's. Training. Camp.
— Matt Verderame (@MattVerderame) August 2, 2018
Against a good Denver Broncos’ defense in last year’s regular season finale, Mahomes completed 22 of 35 passes (62.9 percent) for 284 yards with an interception. The overall effort level in that game could be debated, from Denver’s side especially, but Mahomes did what he did with the Chiefs’ best players basically not available to him (running back Kareem Hunt had one carry in the game).
Here’s a look at the game-winning drive led by Mahomes.
Patrick Mahomes Leads Game-Winning Drive vs #Broncos . #Chiefs win 27-24 #KCvsDEN pic.twitter.com/hMwBqyeLS5
— The Spotting Board (@SpottingBoard) January 1, 2018
Mahomes will surely have some ups and down in his first year as an NFL starter, when the games and snaps count the most, with a pretty tough early season schedule to boot. But his upside far exceeds Smith’s, and the Chiefs are clearly excited about Mahomes being their quarterback of the future starting in 2018.