Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
After 34 years, Chiefs land franchise QB in draft
The last time the Kansas City Chiefs selected a quarterback in the first round of the NFL draft, Andy Reid was an offensive line coach at a school that no longer has football, general manager John Dorsey was still in college and Alex Smith was a year away from being born.
The wait for weary fans finally came to an end last week.
During a stunning first night of the draft, the Chiefs packaged two first-round picks and a third-round selection to move up 17 spots and grab Patrick Mahomes II. In doing so, Reid and Dorsey staked their futures on a quarterback from a school that has only produced flameouts, yet one whose arm strength and intangibles could allow him to succeed Smith under center as soon as the 2018 season.
“What you’re doing is building the future of the organization. I think that’s important,” Dorsey explained. “And we did that. At the end of this thing, I really think he’s going to be really good.”
Mahomes had better be great. Otherwise, it might be another 34 years before the Chiefs take a first-round quarterback.
It wasn’t just that Penn State’s Todd Blackledge was a failure after the franchise took him with the seventh overall pick in the 1983 draft. That he only won 13 games in four seasons hardly helped.
It was a series of circumstances that led to such a bizarre draft drought.
The years Kansas City harbored a high draft pick, there were more pressing needs. The years the Chiefs desperately needed a quarterback, they chose late and the top talent was off the board. And the draft philosophies of Jim Schaaf, Carl Peterson and Scott Pioli didn’t necessarily lend themselves to aggressively pursuing a top-tier talent.
The Chiefs chose to address quarterback in other ways, primarily through trades. There was the high-profile deal with the 49ers for Joe Montana, and the swap with the Rams for Trent Green, and the far less successful trade with the Patriots for Matt Cassel several years ago.
Even when Reid and Dorsey arrived in Kansas City, one of the first things they did was send a pair of second-round picks to San Francisco to get Smith, a move critical to shoring up the position.
As the trade last week with Buffalo flashed on the screen, thousands of fans who packed inside their practice facility for a watch party drew their breath. And when Mahomes was announced as their pick, a roar nearly shook the building — a cheer of joy, hope and relief all at once.
It hardly mattered that Reid quickly tried to temper expectations, pointing out that Mahomes has much to learn. The simple fact that Kansas City had drafted a quarterback in the first round was enough.
“It was pretty tense in there for a little bit because there were a couple other teams trying to get him,” Reid said of the Chiefs’ draft room. “There was a bit of tension, but everyone was excited when it happened. It wasn’t one of those deals where half the room was in on him and half wasn’t. Everybody was in on this kid and liked him, so everyone was pretty fired up.”