The Kansas City Chiefs officially ushered in the Patrick Mahomes era when they parted ways with quarterback Alex Smith. However, their expectations moving forward have not changed despite the second-year quarterback taking over under center.

It appears no one knows this better than Mahomes himself. According to Nate Taylor of The Athletic, the feeling of pressure is no greater than what it has been since his career started.

“For me, it’s no more added pressure,” Mahomes said. “I’m putting that pressure on myself to go out and win. Now we’re at the point where I can go out and train and grind. I’m excited to get training camp started.”

It is encouraging to see Mahomes has taken a confident approach to the 2018 NFL season. He is well aware of the firepower at his disposal on offense. As a result, he knows that this Chiefs offense has the potential to be one of the more explosive units in the league if he does his job.

Kansas City made quite the investment when they selected Mahomes with the 10th overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft. That said, the writing had been on the wall for Smith's looming departure.  However, it was still somewhat surprising to see them make the transition after just one season. Whether or not it was mainly due to their brief playoff appearances, it is clear that Mahomes had proven himself to the coaching staff.

His sample size is still a bit green after appearing in just one game in the 2017 campaign. However, this could work to his advantage early on if he can capitalize on the lack of footage opposing teams have on him.