2018 NFL Power Rankings Week 2: Eagles barely hold off Falcons
By Dan Parzych
5. Kansas City Chiefs
During the draft in April 2017, the Kansas City Chiefs felt confident enough in moving up to land Patrick Mahomes II in the first round to one day replace Alex Smith under center since the veteran wasn’t getting any younger, although was still playing at a high level. With that being said, the Chiefs made a very bold move in the offseason when they made the decision to move on from Smith sooner than expected by sending him to the Washington Redskins in a trade to pave the way for Mahomes to start in 2018.
Heading into his first meaningful start, Mahomes knew he would be facing a ton of pressure since if Kansas City ended up losing to the Los Angeles Chargers, all anyone would talk about is how the team made a mistake by getting rid of Smith. After seeing how effective the youngster was against the Chargers, it’s safe to say that no one is questioning the decision to move forward with Mahomes this soon.
Watching Mahomes shine the way he did against Los Angeles by completing 15 of 27 passes for 256 yards with four touchdowns makes it easy to understand why Kansas City was so high on him last year. Mahomes still has a long way to go when it comes to proving himself, but this was the best possible start for the new Chiefs starting quarterback.