My only concern with Mahomes at this point is injury. He has the tendency to leave the pocket to make big plays ala Aaron Rodgers.

And like Aaron Rodgers he leaves himself open to get sidewalk slammed.

He seemed uncomfortable in the pocket in the preseason and at times would roll out when it wasn't needed.

With that said, start him.

Seattle was his worst preseason game and I think everyone would agree with that

Edited your post to show my commentary. There's more to those plays than you described.

First of all, what did he do different from Alex Smith? Proved multiple times he has better pocket presence. Showed ability multiple times to throw on the run, even more impressive that he did it rolling left. Multiple times threw at the sticks instead of the checkdown. Gives his receivers a chance when he throws the ball away (we saw that multiple times in the preseason). In the face of pressure, he still tries to make a throw with none of those passes looking at all risky.

And by the way, I don't think this was the game he showed what he can do. This was a game where he showed what he had learned. In previous games, he was absolutely outstanding using his mobility not to run, even pressure situations the took a miracle to get out of. This was a game where he replaced some of that freelancing with very smart throwaway balls and where he looks to get rid of the ball much, much faster.

There is no way you can possibly think that Mahomes didn't flash this preseason that he has a hell of a lot more to offer than Smith. Of course it's a risk. But I don't think it is because there isn't any more upside to Smith. We know exactly what he is.

He is going to play that way regardless of when he starts. He may learn after taking some hits, or maybe not. Either way week 11 this year or week 1 next year likely wont change that risk. Hell you could argue if he gets hurt this year we still have Smith and maybe he learns something from it. Next year we wont have Smith.

Cant make decisions based on fear of injury.

That was my concern as well. Except more Big Ben and McNabb for now. The hope is he matures into Rodgers or Favre (but that still means taking a lot of hits). I don't think he looked uncomfortable in the pocket, though he does tend to roll out more than he needs to, but he does have confidence in throwing on the run and he should. I don't have an issue with him rolling out. More of when he waits until the last minute to unload the ball knowing he'll get whacked and a few runs where he tried to get extra yards instead of just running out of bounds.

That being said, the Seattle game was a sign that he was learning fast. Made a lot of really smart throwaways that in previous games he would have stuck in there to take the hit.

there's the hypocrisy though. Many of those plays are what AS would have done too, checkdown, coverage and protection issues.

Mahomes does have spark, and potential. He is the future. The FUTURE. He's still very inexperienced and needs more time IMO. ANd many who are way smarter than me (us) seem to agree. We do far more damage to him rolling him out there this season. This isn't college, he hasn't been a multi-year backup.

Watson seemed to do ok.

As a Mizzou fan that is going through the depression of Michael Porter Jr's injury right now, I could REALLY REALLY use a big pick me up with the announcement that Patrick Mahomes will make his first NFL start Sunday...But because #Chiefs that won't happen.

I don't mind him learning from the bench. He has a lot to work on in terms of footwork and technique, and I think the more he learns the more the game will slow down.

That being said, I think Alex has been limiting enough that I completely disagree that Mahomes doesn't have an excellent chance of upgrading us immediately. Half of those Seattle plays are throws Alex doesn't make. His understanding of his pocket, his willingness to throw deep (which would do wonders for stretching out that cover 2 that's killing us), his ability to throw on the run. Those are big pieces that we're missing right now.

And I don't take much stock in what the organization is saying right now about his readiness. I think the organization is politically playing this out so they can let Alex go next year politely. More importantly, I think they're going to push hard to trade Alex Smith and it does them no favors if teams think the Chiefs are 100% committed to starting Mahomes next year.

Right, but i'd hope that he's developed some comfort in the pocket so he doesn't feel the need to wiggle free most plays. We don't want him rolling out for no reason, and he did that several times in the Preseason.

I understand that that will always be part of his game, but ideally we'd want to him to do that when necessary, not just because.

Just jumping into this conversation here, and i agree, he's not perfect. He throws high at times, short at others. Checks down some times, which there's nothing wrong with.

And that's all to be expected. Everything you mentioned describes any given QB in the NFL.

What separates the good from the great are in fact those outliers. Those plays they make....being play makers.

Mahomes does it. THAT'S why he'll be better than Smith.

Not because he's going to make every read. He won't.

Not because he won't over/under throw a receiver. He will.

But because he has the talent and the fortitude to compensate for those mistakes.

That GIF of Alex missing DAT shows everything that's wrong with Smith. Smith looked right at DAT as he broke free. A difficult window? Sure. But an NFL QB has to make that throw.

Alex considered it and pulled it down instead. Mahomes lets that one rip.

hows that working for him?

Uhmm....lol wut?

he's done for the season with an ACL right?

That he got in practice, dude. Him playing in no way resulted in an injury...unless you're going to argue that simply participating as an NFL player can lead to injury, therefore...enshrine Mahomes in a protective bubble and shelf him for 20 years until his value goes up?