After Mike Williams and Christian McCaffrey, the next skill position player taken in the 2017 NFL Draft was a whopper. At the time, not many people expected or necessarily understood the Kansas City Chiefs’ plan. With Alex Smith performing as well as he ever had, the Chiefs traded up in the first round for a quarterback. Once we got to see Patrick Mahomes in Arrowhead red, though, it became clear. Though the vast majority did not see the transcendental star brewing in Mahomes, the Chiefs have been rewarded with a Lombardi trophy for their foresight.

The Future in Kansas City with Patrick Mahomes

Two Burning Questions

If the Chiefs hadn’t picked up the fifth-year option on Mahomes, I’m pretty sure the city would have been burned to the ground. The long-suffering franchise finally captured their first Super Bowl title in 50 years with Mahomes at the helm in February. The superstar will most certainly be making a home in Missouri for the foreseeable future. For now, he and the Chiefs have to decide how exactly a Madden player should be compensated in real life. That leads to my two biggest questions surrounding Mahomes and Kansas City.

Patrick Mahomes’ Weapons in Kansas City

Mahomes is going to get unprecedented money once he and the Chiefs finalize a deal. Experts have been all over the map when speculating what Mahomes’ contract will look like. Regardless, even the most conservative estimators are expecting Mahomes to become the highest-paid player in NFL history. With all that money tied up in just Mahomes, will the Chiefs have enough resources left to build a perennial Super Bowl contending roster around him? As Travis Kelce ages and Tyreek Hill‘s discounted contract nears an end, the Chiefs are gambling on their ability to continue to nail every draft pick.

While I think we all can comfortably say we expect Mahomes to continue his amazing career well into the future, what quality of weapons a $40 million per year QB will have remains to be seen. Or what quality of defense the team can put together, for that matter. The wild-card option here would be if Mahomes took a Tom Brady-like approach to his contract. If that were to happen just after the controversial new decade-long CBA takes effect, I think the players’ union would just fold up their operations.

How Much More Does the Walrus Have in the Tank?

Another major factor in the early success of Mahomes was getting the opportunity to waltz into Andy Reid’s system. Reid and Mahomes go together like a steak and- well, two other steaks, apparently. Still Reid is 62. His AR15 (an alternative to TB12) lifestyle plan aims for an expectancy of about 35 years before sudden death due to cardiac arrest, so he’s already playing on borrowed time.

If Reid were to decide to sail off on a sea of KFC gravy, the Chiefs would be tasked with finding someone to continue the offense with Mahomes and manage the team without missing a beat. Maybe offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy keeps getting overlooked and is up to the task. If that succession plan doesn’t work, though, it will be interesting to see how Mahomes adapts to a new offense. This is assuming Reid doesn’t continue to coach for decades as he outlives us all. Honestly, I like that timeline.

Regardless, Mahomes is a player to be excited about. For now, he stands at the forefront of star QBs ready to replace Brady, Philip Rivers, Drew Brees, and Ben Roethlisberger as they close the books on their respective careers. He should be fantasy-dominate and creating fantasy-relevant weapons for over a decade. It’s time to strap in and see what Mahomes has in store for us all next.

I’m not so sure the next star QB is so safe in his current hometown. Follow me on Twitter @KyeP_Sports to find out what I think the future holds. Stay tuned to Belly Up Fantasy Sports as we help you prepare for this season and beyond. More of a baseball fan? Check out @NateHerman27‘s series of Top 10 positional reviews.