KC Chiefs: Looking back at the Alex Smith trade three years later

Three years ago, the KC Chiefs traded quarterback Alex Smith to Washington. How does that trade look now? 

When the Kansas City Chiefs‘ 2017 season came to an end, fans were ready for the next era of Chiefs football to begin. They had moved up to select quarterback Patrick Mahomes with the No. 10 pick in the 2017 NFL Draft and despite a nice season from Alex Smith that season, his time leading the Chiefs had come to an end.

It wasn’t long after the season had ended that Smith was indeed traded, as the Chiefs sent him to Washington in exchange for a third-round pick and cornerback Kendall Fuller. Obviously, we know a little more about this trade now, but let’s take some time and look at it in more detail.

As mentioned above, Smith had a nice season in 2017, which made trading him a lot easier, as teams were definitely interested in adding him to their roster. Most Chiefs fans were thrilled about this trade because it meant that Mahomes was officially taking the keys to the offense and driving it for the foreseeable future. None of us knew Mahomes was going to be this good though, not even the biggest homers out there.

The trade worked out well for both sides, but the KC Chiefs were obviously the winners.

The third-round pick was initially the No. 78 pick in the draft, but the Chiefs traded with the Bengals and moved back to No. 100 where they took Dorian O’Daniel, who hasn’t done much of anything in Kansas City. The Bengals used the No. 78 pick to take Texas linebacker Malik Jefferson, for what it’s worth.

Fuller was the exciting piece in the trade, as he was a ball hawk in Washington on a rookie deal and, at the time, Chiefs fans were looking forward to seeing him and Marcus Peters man both sides of the field. Well, as we all know, Peters was traded shortly after, so that never came to be.

While Fuller eventually found his footing and was a nice piece in the secondary, he wasn’t the shutdown corner many were hoping he’d be. His ability to play both corner and safety proved pivotal in last year’s Super Bowl run though and he had an interception in the Super Bowl, which Chiefs Kingdom will remember forever.

Mahomes has obviously been incredible since taking over for Smith, winning an MVP, a Super Bowl title, and a Super Bowl MVP before he turned 25 years old. Smith, on the other hand, has had quite the story in Washington, as he suffered a gruesome leg injury in his first season with his new team and nearly died as a result.

Smith returned this past season and helped lead Washington to an NFC East title and trip to the playoffs. He was injured again near the end of the season, but his performance against the previously undefeated Steelers was a heroic one for sure. Smith will undoubtedly win Comeback Player of the Year and for good reason.

This trade definitely went Kansas City’s way, but Washington certainly respects the heck out of Alex Smith and what we went through the past few years. At the time, the trade made a ton of sense since Mahomes was the future of the Chiefs organization and that clearly was the correct decision, as they’ve won a Super Bowl and might win a second one on Sunday.

Fuller ended up going back to Washington this past offseason so in the end, Washington didn’t lose out on much. It really was a trade that ended up not looking terrible for either side.