Kansas City Chiefs: Ten players who must have big seasons in 2018

NUMBER 1: PATRICK MAHOMES

This seems obvious. In order for any offense to gel, the quarterback has to be decent. Not a lot of teams make noise without an above average signal caller. Patrick Mahomes has to step up in his first year of being the starter or else this Chiefs team will go nowhere in 2018.

Not only is it important for Mahomes to step up for the reason(s) listed above, but it’s also a sign of what the future will hold. If Mahomes is crummy this year, it’s not the end of the world, but fans are fickle and they’ll turn on him fast. We saw how quickly fans turned on Alex Smith as a Chief. It’ll be the same story for Patty Cakes.

Being a quarterback in the NFL is a lot of pressure and fans are very wishy washy. With the type of player Mahomes is, he’ll throw a lot of picks and make a lot of unnecessary throws. That’s going to really annoy fans at times.

While it’s not all that fair, Mahomes has the most pressure on him this season. Sure it’s his first full year as a starter, but he still has to have the best season out of anyone on the Chiefs roster. That’s just how the league works these days.