Chiefs roster: 5 guys the Chiefs can’t live without
By Andrew Jones
Alex Smith
We’ll start with one of those “well duh” guys here. Everyone knows that this offense has been designed to fit Smith and his strengths and weaknesses. In his third year with the team Smith set career highs in passing yards and rushing yards along with complete season QBR at 95.4. (a shortened 2012 had him at 104.1 when he was injured and replaced)
Those numbers aren’t hall of fame level numbers by any means but the real value of Smith is his consistency. Every Chiefs fan has heard this statement up and down since 2013 but to give you an idea of just how consistent he has been with the Chiefs look at the last three years together.
Year Team GP QBR ATT COM PCT Yards TD Int RA RY Rtd
| 2013 | Kansas City Chiefs | 15 | 89.1 | 508 | 308 | 60.6 | 3,313 | 23 | 7 | 76 | 431 | 1 |
| 2014 | 15 | 93.4 | 464 | 303 | 65.3 | 3,265 | 18 | 7 | 49 | 254 | 1 | |
| 2015 | 16 | 95.4 | 470 | 307 | 65.3 | 3,486 | 20 | 7 | 84 | 498 | 2 |
Completions, percentage and interceptions all stand out as remarkably similar despite various strength of schedule in those years. The way his QBR is trending means that the more time he spends under Andy Reid the better he is getting, especially at pushing the ball down the field. He also currently sits as the second-winningest quarterback in Chiefs history with at least 30 starts.
Behind Smith is a myriad of inexperience. Not a single player has ever taken a regular season snap and the two with the most experience have only one preseason slate between them. Camp will tell who distinguishes himself enough to be the primary backup but should Smith go down the playbook becomes a pamphlet and the Chiefs’ already limited offense gets roadblocked.
Next: Jeremy Maclin