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Stephen A. Smith has decorated Patrick Mahomes as the GOAT if he wins a third straight Super Bowl. Mahomes said he’s just trying to be the best he can be. But in a self-serving pat-on-the-back, Andy Reid dished on how Patrick Mahomes became great watching Alex Smith.
Now let’s get to the meat of things right away. It’s entirely possible — and completely unprovable — that Reid made one of the biggest mistakes in NFL history by sitting Mahomes during his rookie season. Everything Mahomes has accomplished to this point could have one more added to it.
More on that later, but here’s what Reid had to say, according to nbcsports.com.
“I’m not saying he couldn’t have been as great as he is now if he didn’t sit,” Reid said. “But being with Alex Smith I thought was something you can’t buy.”
OK, Andy. We’re talking about Alex Smith. He earned three Pro Bowl honors in 14 years. Big wow. It’s not like Mahomes learned from Dan Marino, Aaron Rodgers, or Joe Montana. Give us a break, Andy.
Reid is saying, without shame, he made the right choice to sit Mahomes as a rookie. And before you say it’s unlikely Mahomes would have shined as a true rookie, look at the season Commanders’ QB Jayden Daniels enjoyed in his rookie year in 2024.
Is it unrealistic to think a rookie Mahomes in 2017 could have done better than Daniels did this year. Need proof? Look at Mahomes’ numbers in his fake “rookie season.” He literally had the best year of his NFL career to date. Mahomes threw for 5,097 yads with 50 — yes, 50 — touchdown passes and 12 interceptions.
To put that in perspective, Mahomes combined touchdown total for 2023 and 2024 barely hit 50. He had 27 and 26, respectively, for a total of 53.
And where did the 5,000-50 season come from? Are we to believe Mahomes couldn’t do anything like it as a rookie, but morphed into a superstar for the Chiefs in Week 1 of 2018?
So there’s a case to be made that Reid whiffed. He may have wasted one of the best years of Mahomes’ career by sitting him on the bench — in favor of Smith, no less. So to protect his own image, Reid has to build up Smith.
“(Mahomes) was able to sit there and watch a guy who’s the ultimate professional, on and off the field,” Reid said. “And just get an idea of the lay of the land of how things work in this league. I think that’s helped him in that part of his career. I’m sure if he stepped in as a rookie he probably would have been just as great as he is now.”
Keep in mind the Chiefs sunk in their first playoff game in 2017. They led 21-3 at halftime against the Titans, but fell apart in the second half...
