Who will have the better 2018 season? Patrick Mahomes or Alex Smith

If you listen to our Arrowhead Pride Podcast (we’ll be back next week for OTAs) or are a regular reader here, you probably know one of the most fascinating things to me about the Kansas City Chiefs in the year 2018 is just how many teams in the league they are connected to based upon recent and not-so-recent history.

• Philadelphia Eagles: where Andy Reid spent 14 seasons as head coach and where former Chiefs offensive coordinator Doug Pederson is the head coach.
• Chicago Bears: where last year’s offensive coordinator, Matt Nagy, left to become the head coach, only to be followed by Brad Childress, last year’s assistant head coach.
• Cleveland Browns: where former Chiefs general manager John Dorsey landed as GM, bringing along three members of the Chiefs’ personnel staff. Former Chiefs head coach Todd Haley is now the Browns’ offensive coordinator.
• Oakland Raiders: as coached by Jon Gruden, a close personal friend of Reid’s from their early days in Green Bay.
• Green Bay Packers: where Reid got his start as an NFL coach; also where he won his only Super Bowl ring as a quarterbacks and assistant head coach in 1997.
• Houston Texans: as quarterbacked by Deshaun Watson, who the Chiefs passed on to select Patrick Mahomes.
• Baltimore Ravens, Carolina Panthers, New York Jets, Buffalo Bills, New York Giants: Teams whose head coach comes from the Reid coaching tree, like the Eagles and Bears.

11 teams. I probably forgot some. You get the picture.

—

Of course, there is a 12th team you can obviously add to that list this year, and it is the Washington Redskins, where the Chiefs sent Alex Smith after five years as Kansas City’s starting quarterback.

Now, a few disclaimers before you dive in:

• This is not a discussion on whether the Chiefs should have traded Smith. Based upon Reid’s quotes regarding his confidence in the readiness of Patrick Mahomes and Smith’s cap hit for 2018 (the Chiefs are still figuring that out), I think you can come to the fair conclusion that it was probably time for the Chiefs to move on. That’s not what this is about.
• This is a discussion for fun. I see it a lot in your comments: “It’s the offseason.” Yes, it is, so why not have a discussion about something many of us will be eyeing come this fall?
• What is better? Many times when he was here in Kansas City, Smith would have a very Smith game: Let’s say, 275 yards, one touchdown and no picks, and he was fine with that because the Chiefs would usually win. That may happen a lot this year. Some betting websites have set the Chiefs over-under total at 7.5, not necessarily a good sign. My point here is that Smith and the Redskins may very well win more than the Chiefs, and perhaps that will be because of the Chiefs’ young defense. For the purpose of this discussion, we’re talking about purely numbers: touchdowns, yardage, completion percentage, interceptions or lack thereof, etc.

Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes

• Experience: 1 year (1 regular-season start)
• Head coach/offensive coordinator: Andy Reid/Eric Bieniemy
• Supporting cast: No. 16 offensive line (PFF) led by right tackle Mitchell Schwartz, playmakers TE Travis Kelce, WRs Tyreek Hill and Sammy Watkins and RB Kareem Hunt

Redskins QB Alex Smith

• Experience: 13 years (151 regular-season starts)
• Head coach/offensive coordinator: Jay Gruden/Matt Cavanaugh
• Supporting cast: No. 21 offensive line (PFF) led by right guard Brandon Scherff, playmakers TE Jordan Reed, WRs Jamison Crowder, Josh Doctson and Paul Richardson, RBs Derrius Guice, Chris Thompson and Rob Kelley

Weigh in below.