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Kansas City Chiefs: Broncos taking old Chiefs approach to quarterbacks

By Leigh Oleszczak

ENGLEWOOD, CO MARCH 16: Denver Broncos quarterback Case Keenum shakes hands with John Elway, general manager and executive vice president of football operations of the Denver Broncos after posing with his jersey during a press conference on March 16, 2018 at Dove Valley. Case Keenum agreed to terms on a two-year deal with the Denver Broncos. (Photo by John Leyba/The Denver Post via Getty Images)
ENGLEWOOD, CO MARCH 16: Denver Broncos quarterback Case Keenum shakes hands with John Elway, general manager and executive vice president of football operations of the Denver Broncos after posing with his jersey during a press conference on March 16, 2018 at Dove Valley. Case Keenum agreed to terms on a two-year deal with the Denver Broncos. (Photo by John Leyba/The Denver Post via Getty Images) /
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The Kansas City Chiefs have their quarterback of the future, but some franchises aren’t so lucky. The Denver Broncos are one of those unlucky teams, recently trading for former Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco.

The trade that the Broncos made to acquire Joe Flacco reminded me a lot of how the Kansas City Chiefs used to tackle the quarterback position. Before they traded up to select future league MVP Patrick Mahomes in the 2017 NFL Draft, the Chiefs mostly relied on castoffs from other teams.

Prior to Mahomes, the Chiefs traded for Alex Smith and that was a rare one that worked out decently for them. Smith had his best years with the Chiefs and mentored Mahomes in what ended up being Smith’s final season in Kansas City.

Before Smith, the Chiefs traded for then-Patriots backup signal caller Matt Cassel. Cassel had one good season in New England, leading them to an 11-5 record (yet no playoff appearance) and was the hottest name on the market that offseason.

While Cassel had one good year in KC, he was mostly a bust. Still, you have to give the Chiefs credit for going after the hottest name on the quarterback market.

The Chiefs had so many 49ers castoffs during the 1990s from Joe Montana to Steve Bono to Steve DeBerg (not to mention Alex Smith) and it really did seem like after Todd Blackledge failed, that they were terrified of drafting their own guy.

Now, after having Peyton Manning for several years, the Broncos have been in quarterback purgatory. John Elway has been infamous for drafting bad quarterbacks, such as Brock Osweiler, Paxton Lynch, and Chad Kelly. While Kelly wasn’t bad on a talent level, he was a troublemaker off the field and that ultimately led to his dismissal from the team.

The Broncos haven’t been able to draft their next signal caller, so they’re doing the desperate act of trying to find the best name on the free agent market. Last year, they wanted Kirk Cousins, as did most teams needing a quarterback, but lost out to the Vikings. Instead, they signed Case Keenum who was a one-hit wonder in Minnesota and proved that to everyone last year.

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Denver is repeating the cycle in 2019, recently trading for Joe Flacco, who the Ravens moved on from midseason in 2018. Rookie Lamar Jackson took the league by storm and it was clear that the end of the Flacco era was coming to an end in Baltimore.

I’ll say this… Flacco is a much better quarterback than Case Keenum. He’s won a Super Bowl before and people have flirted with calling him “elite”.

Still, the Ravens were moving on from Flacco. If he was any good, he’d still be in Baltimore. That isn’t the case though and it’s entertaining to see the Broncos, whose fans once mocked the Chiefs for never having the right quarterback, get to go through the same quarterback woes that we had to experience for years.

Denver might still draft a quarterback, but now a first round pick spent on one isn’t as likely. Even if they do draft one, that certainly hasn’t been Elway’s specialty in recent years. That should boost Chiefs fans’ confidence even more, knowing that the Broncos will continue to mess up the most important position in sports.

Next. Ranking Every Patrick Mahomes Start in 2018. dark

The Kansas City Chiefs made a gutsy move to get their franchise signal caller and it feels good to be at the top of mountain now when it comes to quarterback conversations. No longer is Chiefs Kingdom the laughing stock or “middle of the road” when it comes to those discussions.

They’re at the freaking top, baby!

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