The KC Chiefs are finally grouped in with other teams that have rookie quarterbacks, as they traded up 18 spots to nab Patrick Mahomes in the first round of this year’s draft. Mahomes could end up being their backup this season.
While it’s rare to see NFL teams draft quarterbacks in the first round and not play them right away, the Kansas City Chiefs are doing just that with Patrick Mahomes. Despite having him as the third-stringer in their first preseason game, Mahomes has played so well during the preseason that he’s been bumped up to the backup role.
Having Mahomes be the backup quarterback for the Chiefs this season is the best case scenario. Tyler Bray has had five years now to prove his worth and he’s not looking any better. Time to move on from that saga and let Mahomes back up Alex Smith this year.
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If Mahomes does win the backup job, the KC Chiefs would have one of the best backup quarterback situations in the entire league. Will Brinson of CBS Sports wrote an article where he ranked every NFL team’s backup quarterback situation and he put the Chiefs at number five, listing Mahomes there, NOT BRAY.
Here was Brinson’s logic for putting Mahomes as the fifth best backup quarterback in the NFL,
"Having seen what Patrick Mahomes can do from a physical standpoint, it’s hard not to love his upside as a backup quarterback. Even Michael Vick admits Mahomes can do things on the run with his arm that Vick couldn’t do. Letting Mahomes sit and learn in Andy Reid‘s system bodes well for the possibility of him developing into a stud starter one day."
Pretty high praise from Will Brinson there and most Chiefs fans would agree that having Mahomes as that number two guy gives the team the best chance to win should Smith have to miss some time. Is anyone going to feel confident if Tyler Bray has to start several games? I’m sure as hell not going to.
If Bray were the Chiefs backup heading into the season, they’d probably be ranked in the bottom five on this list. It’s that big of a drop off from Mahomes to Bray.
As for the rest of Brinson’s list, he had Jimmy Garoppolo as the best backup in the league followed by A.J. McCarron of the Bengals, Mitchell Trubisky of the Bears, and Deshaun Watson of the Texans. It’s interesting to see Trubisky and Watson ranked ahead of Mahomes, as I feel the Chiefs rookie has played the best out of this year’s rookie quarterbacks, but to each their own.
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Perhaps both of those guys are ahead of Mahomes on this list due to them having a better chance at actually seeing the field. Whatever the reason is, it’s pretty cool to see those three rookies all right next to each other on the rankings and all being some of the best backup options in the NFL.
The rest of the AFC West saw Paxton Lynch at 12th (way too high, but there is some upside with him since he’s young), Kellen Clemens of the Chargers at 24 (I wouldn’t have been able to guess who their backup was if you paid me), and EJ Manuel of the Raiders right behind him at 25.
Some former Chiefs quarterbacks also made appearances on the rankings (both starters and backups). Nick Foles, Chase Daniel, and Matt Cassel were all ranked in the teens of the best backup quarterback scenarios in the league. Good for those guys.
Normally I’m an advocate of letting the rookie sit and learn as long as possible, but Mahomes has looked so much better than anyone expected this preseason and that’s a tremendous sign. If Smith had to miss a few games, the Chiefs would be far better off with Mahomes stepping in and putting what he learned to the test, then if Tyler Bray were asked to sub in.
At the end of the day, while there is still one more game left of preseason, it’s time to officially make Patrick Mahomes the backup quarterback for the 2017 season. The Kansas City Chiefs will be in much better hands if they do.