After two preseason games, the debate on whether or not Patrick Mahomes should start over Alex Smith has already started.
Leading up to the 2017 NFL Draft, I broke down his ability at Texas Tech noting that he had incredible arm strength and had an Aaron Rodgers ability to improvise, but also noted that he poor throwing mechanics.
Since that video was released, he has had a full NFL offseason to improve on his foundation from college.
Against the San Francisco 49ers and the Cincinnati Bengals in the preseason, the Kansas City Chiefs ran a large portion of screen passes. When they weren’t using screens, Mahomes’ flashed potential and made some truly amazing plays like the throw to Gavin Escobar on the sideline.
Outside of these throws, his accuracy was a bit sporadic, and he did not have the best footwork to consistently execute the concepts in this offense.
After watching the video, do you think Mahomes should become the full-time starter?
The answer is no right now. He still needs to work on his progressions and he needs to fix his footwork. Alex Smith has been playing very well against starting defenders and he hasn’t done anything wrong in order for him to lose his job. He should use this season to improve his skill-set before competing next season for that starting job.