Did the Chiefs pay too much to trade up for Patrick Mahomes?

Drafting a quarterback was the best move

What made me think this? Simply, all signs were pointing to it before the draft. After this upcoming season, the Chiefs are going to have a lot of decisions to make. A few of the bigger decisions are going to be getting rid some of the older players on the team which includes long-time favorites Tamba Hali and Derrick Johnson. I am emotionally preparing myself to see one, or both, retire or be cut after this season because their cap hits are just too high for the Chiefs to be able to carry.

Taking a quick look at Over the Cap, we see that Tamba Hali is carrying a cap hit of $8.5 million next season, with only $1.5 million in dead cap if he is released. If we also cut DJ, who is has a $10 million hit with only $2.2 million in dead cap, we would gain $15 million in cap space. Now $15 million is not a lot overall, but we also owe Alex Smith $20 million next season. As much as I love Smith, he is not worth that much money.

So, what would happen if we cut him as well? We would gain another $17 million in cap space, bringing us to a total of $32 million. We’ve all seen the wonders that John Dorsey can do while being strapped for cash, so can you imagine what he would do with that much money?  I’ll leave that to your imagination, but this team would be in prime position for a Super Bowl push if Dorsey can fill any holes we would have at that point with free agent players, even if we are starting a second-year quarterback who has never taken a snap in the NFL. I

t is possible that he uses most of it to lock up some of our better players as well, such as Marcus Peters, who will only get more expensive by the season. I believe that Dorsey will look to extend him early or Mitch Morse, whose contract ends at the end of the 2018 season.

Lastly, this move for Mahomes has given the Chiefs the most valuable thing in the NFL these days, and that is having your starting quarterback on a rookie contract. Look at the Raiders and the Seahawks, who essentially showed how this benefits your team. One of those teams went to two Super Bowls and won one, just barely losing the other, while the other has been able to stockpile tons of talent and return to playoff contention.

At the end of the day, was trading up for Patrick Mahomes worth it? Absolutely, he is walking into the best situation he could have asked for, and instead of being the first piece to the puzzle of winning a Super Bowl, he is instead looking like that last piece this team needed to get over the hump.

Dorsey wanted to ensure that the Chiefs stay competitive for years to come, so he went out and got his guy. If Dorsey is right, which he has been on a few different occasions now, we will be watching a rising star next season with a great cast around him, and hopefully, the Chiefs will be hoisting a Lombardi trophy here in the near future.