The Alex Smith era of the Kansas City Chiefs is officially over. The team didn't waste any time after their 2017 campaign was over as they promptly parted ways with Smith by trading the veteran quarterback to the Washington Redskins which paved the way for Patrick Mahomes to be the starter for the foreseeable future.
Although he's young and inexperienced, Mahomes seems to be doing all the right things for head coach Andy Reid in Kansas City. The Texas Tech product has received high praise from Reid in the past, and now it seems to be on another level with the veteran coach getting to watch him evolve into the team's undisputed leader under center, via BJ Kissel of Chiefs.com.
“He’s phenomenal. He’s got great leadership. He loves playing. He’s absorbing everything, and now he’s just got to do it,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid recently explained of his uber-talented second-year quarterback. “He’s got to just go practice and work through it and massage each play and see how it works against these different coverages.”
Mahomes got a taste of what it's like being the starter in Kansas City as he filled in for Smith to finish out the regular season before the team headed into the playoffs. The rookie played in the regular-season finale and helped lead the team to a win over the division rival Denver Broncos.
The young quarterback failed to throw a touchdown in the 27-24 win over the Broncos but showed promise for a bright future. Mahomes talked about his comfortability heading into his second season with Kansas City, via Kissel.
“You can focus on more things now that you’re comfortable calling the play,” Mahomes explained of his comfortability here in his second year. “Now that I’m comfortable calling the play, I can focus on the snap count, the man-zone IDs, and focus on what makes this offense so good.
“So, for me being in year two, I feel a lot more comfortable with that.”
Fortunately for Mahomes, the Chiefs have an incredibly talented roster offensively heading into his sophomore campaign. It may be a talented young group that could stick together for quite some time with Mahomes leading the way along with Sammy Watkins, Tyreek Hill, Travis Kelce, and Kareem Hunt.
The 22-year-old will be put to the test next season with the team playing in one of the toughest divisions in the NFL with the AFC West expected to be highly competitive. Despite having a young starter under center, the Chiefs are expected to be a force to be reckoned with as they try to get back to the postseason.
Follow Us
Subscribe