[PAChiefsGuy]

Originally Posted by Baby Lee

Speaking to the 'arm grabbing' quality of Mahomes so far, this is what I'm trying to figure out.

I personally am high on Mahomes' future, but am also wary that the things we don't know about him are the things we'll never know until he's tested. There's been tons of slingers with Achilles of all stripes. For some it's pressure. For some, it's disguised coverages. For others it's over-reliance on diagnosable plays.

There's nearly as many forms of Achilles' heels as there are QBs that didn't meet expectations.

The best thing in his favor, and the thing I'm anxious to perpetuate, is that he's not coming onto a team he has to carry. This isn't a P.Manning rebuild, or a Stafford sole bright spot. It isn't even a Culpepper or Cunningham situation where they were great but not great enough to overcome snakebit franchises [though our 'history' might be another matter, I think Reid is changing that narrative].

But what I can't figure is, if Mahomes is as promising as I think he is, what of all the past angst over not snagging inferior talents. Would you rather have a Mariota or Cousins instead of waiting until Mahomes was on the block? Do you think that we would have made the Leviathan effort to snag him if we already had a high profile prospect in his mid-20s on the roster instead of one entering his mid-30s?

I feel there's more potential in Mahomes than anyone since Luck/RGIII, and even those situations have been wildly mishandled to date. That's why I center my concern away from squeeing over the new toy, glossing over the present, and fixating on getting Mahomes on the field. Instead I center my concern towards maintaining team chemistry, including respect for Alex's position and franchise value. I'd rather operate the franchise under the assumption that the present depth chart is making a serious championship run, and introduce Mahomes organically on a team free of the drama of a QB controversy and feelings of disrespect over tanked opportunities. NFL players live with a Sword of Damacles over them where every play could be their last, and they generally have little patience for playing out a string for far off rewards.

It's like the joke about the calf that wants to run down to the meadow and **** a heifer when the bull advises walking down and ****ing them all. I want to compete this year. I want to compete next year, and I eventually want Mahomes to take over on solid, drama free, footing and compete for 15 years or more additional.

Good post.