Even Patrick Mahomes had a tough beginning in the league, playing just one game throughout his rookie year. However, the following season, he blossomed into a 50-touchdown quarterback who won the NFL MVP honors. That sudden transformation isn’t by luck. As the saying goes, it takes a village to raise a child, which also applies to quarterbacks. In Mahomes’s case, he had a fantastic coach, Andy Reid, and the perfect mentor, Alex Smith.
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As Reid shared with ‘Scoop City’ hosts Dianna Russini and Chase Daniel, he did not instruct Smith to show Patrick Mahomes the ropes. Instead, the three-time Pro Bowl quarterback made it his personal mission to prepare Mahomes for the bright lights and the bigger stage.
It’s atypical for a quarterback to teach the one poised to take over from him. That issue brought Brett Favre some bad rep when he didn’t take Aaron Rodgers under his wing. However, Smith did the opposite with Patrick Mahomes and showed the then-rookie how to carry himself professionally.
In some ways, Smith didn’t just teach him how to maintain composure on the field and read defenses to gain leverage. Instead, he also showed him how to treat himself as an ambassador of the league and be a loving family man.
Smith’s example helped Mahomes become a three-time Super Bowl champion and MVP. While the former Texas Tech standout has won every conceivable award and accolade in seven NFL seasons, there are instances when he’s not playing like an All-Pro quarterback. Chad Henne did not hesitate to call out the two-time NFL MVP in those instances.
The QB Who Didn’t Shy Away from Criticizing Patrick Mahomes
Henne was Patrick Mahomes’ backup for five seasons. As Reid added, Henne knew he was in the twilight of his career when he was Mahomes’ backup. However, that distinction didn’t mean Henne avoided pointing out what Mahomes did poorly. After all, he saw the game from a different perspective, and he saw certain angles that Mahomes might not.
Henne challenged Mahomes to be better, not by being a threat but by being brutally honest. His honesty helped Mahomes improve to the point that he is now extremely hard to beat.
This season, Wentz will likely fill Henne’s previous role. While he must be ready if anything untoward occurs to Mahomes, he’s the guy who can enrich Mahomes’ vision by relaying what he sees. The league’s best quarterback needs all the help he can get to deliver a third consecutive Super Bowl for Kansas City.
Now that he’s the elder statesman, Mahomes will hopefully pass on his lessons from Smith to backups Carson Wentz, Chris Oladokun, and Ian Book.
