Texas Tech graduate Patrick Mahomes withstood nine players getting picked before him until the Kansas City Chiefs selected him in the 2017 draft. Despite coming on the back of a 5052-yard season with the Red Raiders and 41 touchdowns, there was no shortage of doubts around the 22-year-old shot-caller, who was set to fill the shoes of a league veteran, Alex Smith. It gets even trickier since Smith became the passer rating leader with Mahomes on the bench in 2017 — the same year the Chiefs would go on to conclude their season in the Wild Card Round against the Titans. No one could believe that Mahomes, who started one game that year with little to no contribution, was about to replace Smith in the next — and as it turns out, neither could Travis Kelce.
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BetMGM host and sports podcaster Trysta Krick had the opportunity to interview Travis Kelce in 2018 when Alex Smith was traded to the Redskins — either for financial stability or simply because he couldn’t win the Big One. The interviewer asked Kelce if he and his team anticipated this move beforehand. The star TE responded that they definitely knew something big was about to go down, but at the same time, he was hoping to play another season with Alex to chase a Super Bowl win. He also voiced his disappointment at not being in the second half due to a concussion. The 21-3 half-time lead wasn’t enough for his side.
Travis then shared with Krick that Alex has always been an underrated player and deserved much more, but the circumstances just didn’t align. However, to some extent, he was happy that his then-former QB was able to secure a good contract with the Redskins — a 4 year, $94 million deal, to be exact.
Then, reacting to the new fella who was about to take over the starting position, Kelce says, “Mahomes’ gonna have big shoes to fill.” Since everyone was expecting Mahomes to surpass Alex with the Chiefs, Travis emphasized that it would be extremely challenging for Mahomes to replicate Alex’s achievements over the years.
Fans React to Travis Kelce’s Speculation About Mahomes
Half a decade later, it’s safe to say that Kelce couldn’t be more wrong. In his first year with the Chiefs, Mahomes not only won the MVP but led his side to the AFC Championship, losing against the Tom Brady-led Patriots. However, in the next five years, the Texas Tech alum would go on to win three Super Bowls, etching his name in the history books.
Fans in the comments couldn’t help but applaud Travis for supporting his QB in the interview. While others noted how Mahomes went on to prove everyone wrong, even his future best friend. Take a look:
Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce have undoubtedly become one of the strongest duos in the league. In the 18 postseason games they played together, the duo connected for 1609 yards and 18 touchdowns. Surely, they will keep flourishing in the seasons to come.
