He’s one heck of a manager

AN EARLY word of warning for the Chiefs: Be careful what you wish, and plan, for. There might not be a more underappreciated player in the NFL than Kansas City quarterback Alex Smith. And, in a league that is suffering from a serious lack of competent quarterbacks, this is stunning, because all the guy has done in his career is win.

The Chiefs surely shouldn’t be chastised for moving up in the draft to select Patrick Mahomes II with the 10th-overall pick this spring. Nevertheless, if they’re too hasty about moving on from Smith to get to Mahomes, it could cost them dearly.

Sure, Smith is 33 years old and in his 12th NFL season. But he still is really good — as evidenced by his 368-yard, four-touchdown performance in outclassing Tom Brady and the Patriots in last week’s season opener.

Smith has been the poster child for the back-handed-compliment buzzword phrase “game manager.”

Well, Smith has managed to win 80 of his 137 NFL starts. In four-plus years in Kansas City, Smith is 42-20 and has led the Chiefs to the playoffs in three of his first four years in K.C.

He has thrown 80 TDs to just 28 INTs with the Chiefs (161-91 in his career) and has completed 64.8 percent of his passes (61.9 in his career).

Yet you wonder if the Chiefs are in a hurry to transition to Mahomes.

In a recent interview with “In Depth with Graham Bensinger,’’ Smith said he “absolutely’’ believes this will be his final season in Kansas City.

“You have to prove yourself year in and year out, and if you can’t get the job done, every team is going to go and try and find somebody else that can,’’ Smith said.

Smith is signed with the Chiefs through 2018, but the nature of his contract is such that it won’t be financially debilitating for the Chiefs to part ways with him after this season.

If the Chiefs go deep into the postseason, then what will they do with Smith? If he leads them to the Super Bowl, will he be replaced by Mahomes in 2018 because he still is regarded as merely a “game manager”?

The way the Chiefs manage that situation going forward will be something to watch.