Hunt surprised by Mahomes’ success

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Not even the owner of the Kansas City Chiefs, who gave the green light to trade up last year and select Patrick Mahomes 10th overall, expected his young quarterback to succeed this quickly.

During his midseason discussion with reporters, Clark Hunt said Monday that Mahomes has defied the expectations of the entire draft room that night.

That includes then-general manager John Dorsey, current GM Brett Veach and Coach Andy Reid, who has been instrumental in his progress.

“I think there was a big question mark in all our minds coming into the year with the transition at quarterback,” Hunt said. “We knew that Patrick was very talented, but any time an NFL team goes with a young quarterback, it’s a very challenging endeavor.

“As we’ve seen, we’ve had Patrick ready since Week 1 and he’s played outstanding, perhaps at an MVP-caliber the first eight weeks, and the credit really goes to Andy and his staff.”

Mahomes spent last season learning the ropes under Alex Smith, but he was turned loose when the Chiefs traded their Pro Bowl quarterback to the Washington Redskins this past offseason.

Mahomes has responded by leading the Chiefs to a 7-1 record and first place in the AFC. He’s on a run of seven consecutive 300-yard passing games to obliterate the franchise record, and already he has six games with a passer rating of 100-plus — the fifth most in a single season in Chiefs history.

And lest anyone miss Smith, consider this fact: Mahomes already has 25 touchdown passes this season, matching what his predecessor accomplished all of last season.

“Patrick got off to a very good start in Week 1, and you know, everybody — me included — was pretty excited about his performance. But was that a onetime example of his talent or something that is going to be consistent?” Hunt said. “He’s shown it every week and built on it.”

Mahomes’ latest dazzling performance came Sunday against Denver, when he threw for 303 yards and four touchdowns. He also threw six touchdown passes in a game earlier this season.

“He also has excellent leadership abilities,” Reid said.

“We’ve seen that this year, it’s very, very challenging for a young quarterback at 22, 23 years old to step into an NFL locker room and almost overnight become one of the leaders of the team. And he’s done that.”