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KC Chiefs: Chase Daniel Underrated As Backup Quarterback

By Leigh Oleszczak

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The KC Chiefs have an almost sure thing headed into the 2015 when it comes to the one and two quarterback spot. Obviously Alex Smith is the starter, and most signs point to Chase Daniel backing up Smith for the third season in a row.

Up to this point, Daniel has seen two starts during his time in Kansas City, and fans have begun to feel pretty confident in him should he have to make a start or briefly come into the game.

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Marc Sessler of NFL.com, however, didn’t even have Daniel as a top ten backup quarterback on his most recent rankings. Sessler put Daniel right outside the top ten, at number 11. Here was his reasoning,

"Daniel fizzled out as one of our past “Making the Leap” candidates, but he plays with confidence. On tape, he looks like a future starter for stretches, but also threw too many off-target darts in 2014."

I guess it’s tough to judge a player off two starts in five active seasons, but I would think that Chase Daniel would be considered at least a top ten backup in the league. He’s started two week 17 games since his time in Kansas City, and really should have a 2-0 record.

A botched call on a field goal attempt against the Chargers in 2013 cost Daniel a win that he deserved. That game saw Daniel throwing for 200 yards, two touchdowns, and gaining an additional 50+ yards with his legs.

In his second career start, Daniel didn’t play nearly as well, but he got his team a victory. He didn’t make mistakes and played admirably for a team with everything on the line. Daniel threw for 157 yards and a touchdown in a 19-7 victory over the Chargers, which kept San Diego out of the postseason. That was funny.

As for the rest of the backup quarterbacks on the list, Mark Sanchez, Mike Glennon, and Ryan Fitzpatrick were dubbed the best, and as “starting material”. All three guys did start at some point last year for their respective teams.

Fourth on is where it gets dicey to me.

Sessler considers Jimmy Garoppolo of the New England Patriots to be the fourth best backup quarterback in the league. How exactly does he know that Garoppolo is good? He, unlike Daniel, hasn’t started a single game, and only came into games during blowouts on either side of the ball.

Chiefs fans saw Garoppolo in action at Arrowhead when the Pats sent him in after a lopsided score. Garoppolo went on to score a touchdown, but it was against KC backups.

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    • I just don’t see how Jimmy Garoppolo is ranked above Daniel and some other decent backups when he has yet to start an NFL game.

    From there, Sessler had Zach Mettenberger, Kirk Cousins, Derek Anderson, Tarvaris Jackson, Drew Stanton, and Ryan Mallett rounding out the top ten.

    Okay TARVARIS JACKSON A TOP TEN BACKUP QUARTERBACK? Really? Tarvaris Jackson is NOT a better quarterback than Chase Daniel. Also, Derek Anderson should be much higher, but that’s a whole other article.

    I guess Marc Sessler and I just don’t agree on this subject because he put Chad Henne at 17th, while I think Henne would easily be a top ten backup. Here would be my top ten.

    1. Mark Sanchez
    2. Ryan Fitzpatrick
    3. Derek Anderson
    4. Drew Stanton
    5. Chase Daniel
    6. Chad Henne
    7. Mike Glennon
    8. Matt Hasselbeck
    9. Matt Moore
    10. Ryan Mallett (I could make a case for Zach Mettenberger here as well)

    So yeah, I disagree with Marc Sessler. I think Chase Daniel is a top five backup quarterback in the NFL, and while I don’t see him being with the Kansas City Chiefs past this season, I could see him competing for a starting gig for a different NFL team.

    What do you think about Chase Daniel as a backup quarterback?

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