Why the Kansas City Chiefs should not start Patrick Mahomes immediately
Fans of the Kansas City Chiefs have been dreaming of having a quarterback like rookie Patrick Mahomes for decades. For many of us, we have literally spent our entire lives as fans waiting for the Chiefs to draft and develop a true star quarterback. We loved having Joe Montana. We respected guys like Trent Green and current starter Alex Smith who arrived as veterans and had successful seasons. However, it’s just not the same as drafting your own guy in the first round who has an incredibly high ceiling, dreaming of him living up to all that potential and leading your favorite team to a Super Bowl.
It is obviously way too soon to say whether or not Patrick Mahomes will fulfill those dreams, but the early returns from both practice and the first two preseason games is incredibly encouraging. Fans are drooling at the talent Mahomes is flashing on the field. This excitement has led some fans to call on the Chiefs to make Mahomes the starter now. I am here to tell you that this would be a big mistake.
Before I go any further, let’s make sure you understand how excited I am about Patrick Mahomes. This post is not coming from someone who thought the Chiefs reached for Mahomes and has doubts about his NFL future. If you are a regular reader, you know that Patrick Mahomes was literally the number one player that I wanted K.C. to draft. My post right before the draft was a letter to John Dorsey begging him to go get the Chiefs a quarterback, specifically Patrick Mahomes.
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When the Chiefs moved up in the draft my adrenaline shot through the roof. I was pacing my living room saying to myself, “Oh man, this may actually happen! They may actually do it!” Then when his name was called, I cheered so loud it scared my dogs. I watched him intently at training camp and loved what I saw. I’ve gone back and watched his preseason snaps multiple times and, again, I loved what I saw. I am not anti-Patrick Mahomes. I am as excited and fanatical about him as anyone. I just don’t think he should start in 2017.
There are two main reasons that I will explain in this post that make my case.
1. Starting Patrick Mahomes this season is not what is best for the Chiefs in 2017.
2. Starting Patrick Mahomes this season is not what is best for his career long-term.
Before I get into my explanations for those two points I want to acknowledge some valid counter arguments that were put out last week. Joshua Brisco recently had Seth Keysor of Arrowhead Pride and Brandon Kiley of 101 ESPN in St. Louis on his Roughing the Kicker podcast to discuss the benefits of starting Mahomes as a rookie. If you haven’t already heard it, I highly recommend it. That having been said, I’m still not sold. I think if you read this piece and listen to that podcast it will give you two pretty strong arguments and you can decide for yourself which side you agree with.
Let’s start by talking about why starting Mahomes is not what is best for the Chiefs in 2017.