Ranking 5 Chiefs starting QBs who played for 49ers first

1. Alex Smith, 2013-17

It will be interesting to see how Smith is ultimately remembered by Chiefs fans as time goes by. If DeBerg ushered in a new era in Chiefs history, so did Smith, on an even bigger scale.

After being a number one overall pick for the 49ers, Smith spent eight injury-plagued, mediocre seasons in the Bay Area. Andy Reid was hired as head coach after the Chiefs' disastrous, franchise-worst, 2012 season, and Reid promptly traded for Smith.

Smith was certainly instrumental in turning the franchise around after nearly a decade of ineptitude. He put up some impressive numbers, throwing for more than 3,200 yards in every season with the Chiefs.

There was just a prevailing feeling that Smith just wasn't the quarterback the team needed to get them to a Super Bowl. The team proved this thought process by jumping up in the 2017 NFL Draft to select Patrick Mahomes, even with Smith under contract.

After the team drafted Mahomes and realized what they had in him, Smith became expendable. Despite having his best statistical season in 2017 — 4,042 passing yards, 67.5 completion percentage, 26 touchdowns and five interceptions — the Chiefs traded him to Washington and turned the team over to Mahomes. After six consecutive AFC Championships, two Super Bowl wins, 2 MVPs, and a multitude of other awards and records, the rest, as they say, is history.

In all, Smith went 50-26 as a Chiefs starter, threw for 17,608 yards, 102 touchdowns, 33 interceptions, and completed an impressive 65.1 percent of his attempts. He went just 1-4 in the postseason, however, which eventually led to the drafting of Mahomes.

Although Smith had to have seen the writing on the wall, he did mentor the young quarterback while playing some of the best football of his long career. Right now, he seems appreciated for what he did for the franchise and for Mahomes, and will probably enjoy a positive legacy in fans' memories.