2018 NFL Draft: Why the Kansas City Chiefs should select a quarterback
By Matt Conner
The Kansas City Chiefs might have added a couple veterans to the roster at the game’s most important position, but they still need a rookie QB all the same.
On the surface, the roster looks full.
Patrick Mahomes. Chad Henne. Matt McGloin. Fourteen years of NFL experience. A first-round pick ready to become the face of the franchise. Veteran players to help in the film room. Everything looks set.
Alas, it is not.
Patrick Mahomes is the starting quarterback for the Kansas City Chiefs and is, by some definition, a rookie himself. He’s thrown a scant 35 passes in his career, coming in the last week of the regular season in 2017 in a game that mattered nothing to the official outcome of the season. He’s also had some preseason action.
Mahomes might be a second-year player, but he shares more in common with rookie quarterbacks than the second-year players he entered the NFL with. At this point, DeShone Kizer has 440 more pass attempts of experience at the pro level. Mitchell Trubisky has 300 more. Deshaun Watson has about 170 more attempts, and even Nathan Peterman has 10 more.
It was by design that Patrick Mahomes sat for a full year before receiving the keys to the franchise, but it’s important to note that he’s still quite green.
Given that Mahomes is himself so close to being a rookie, it might sound odd to say the Chiefs need someone else just as inexperienced on the roster at the same position. Is there not enough quarterback development work to do for the coaches, staff and veteran players?
The answer is no. Let’s look at the reasons why.