After being selected in the first round of the 2017 NFL Draft by the Kansas City Chiefs, Patrick Mahomes famously rode the bench as Alex Smith started at quarterback. And while the pair of QBs would only be teammates for that one season, Mahomes said Smith taught him a lot that has helped propel him to become the NFL’s best quarterback.
During an interview on SiriusXM NFL Radio, Mahomes spoke with Smith, who started all but the final game of that season for the Chiefs, and Bruce Murray about the effect of Smith on his career.
“I always give this man his flowers, but I truly mean it,” Mahomes said of Smith. “I came in as an — I don’t want to say immature — but I came in and I was just relying on my talent, is what I always think about. I can make stuff happen, I show up, we just play football. And then I watched Alex work and I was like, ‘Let me just try to do some of that stuff.’ I remember working all year long, and you don’t know ’cause I’m not playing, but I’m working. [If] Alex is in, I’m in. I’m just going to try to just learn as much as possible.
“That Week 17 game, I played and I remember being like, when you work like this and know what you’re gonna do before the snap, it makes everything easier. So that was the process that I still do — I don’t know if he knows — I still do the exact same process that he was doing that first year… His blueprint of how to be a successful quarterback in the NFL is what I picked up on and he gave me the advice. I think that’s the biggest thing. Some guys can be — I can’t say bad words — but can be mean about helping a guy out that’s coming in, a highly drafted guy, but he taught me a lot of stuff and I try to utilize that stuff to make myself better, and it’s taking off, man.”
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Patrick Mahomes took over for Alex Smith — and the rest is history
After that 2017 season, Alex Smith, who arguably had the best season of his career that year, was traded to the Washington Redskins (now Commanders), while Patrick Mahomes became the Kansas City Chiefs’ new starting quarterback.
Mahomes instantly made an impact; he led the Chiefs to the No. 1 seed in the AFC, threw for 5,000 yards and 50 touchdowns, and was named NFL MVP in his first season as the starter. Although Kansas City fell short in the AFC Championship Game against the New England Patriots, Mahomes led the Chiefs to the franchise’s second Super Bowl championship the following season.
Since then, Mahomes has won two more Super Bowl titles and been in the NFL’s final game an additional time as well. The Chiefs have raised the Lombardi Trophy each of the last two seasons, giving them the chance this year to become the first team ever to win three straight Super Bowls.
As for Smith, in his first season with Washington, he suffered a gruesome leg injury in which he fractured his tibia and fibula during a game against the Houston Texans. The initial surgery was just the first of nearly 20 in total for Smith, who was at risk of having to amputate his leg.
Fortunately, Smith made a recovery and returned to the NFL during the 2020 season, during which he started six games and played in eight. After the season, he was named NFL Comeback Player of the Year. He retired from football in April 2021 and has since transitioned into broadcasting.
