As promised, we’ll rank the quarterback rooms throughout the NFL, top to bottom.
It’s not a list of quarterbacks; we’ll defer to Chris Simms on that one. It’s a list of overall quarterback function. Starter, backup(s), position coach, offensive coordinator, head coach.
The first one is perhaps the easiest. Without question, it’s the Kansas City Chiefs.
Arguably, starter Patrick Mahomes is good enough to make the Chiefs the best in the league, regardless of the rest of the depth chart or the coaching staff. But the coaching staff definitely helps, given the presence of head coach Andy Reid.
Reid has gotten the most out of Mahomes since he became the starter in 2018. Reid keeps coming up with ways to make Mahomes and the offense even better, in part through giving Mahomes and the rest of the offensive players the freedom to suggest creative plays and pre-snap techniques.
The departure of offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy disrupts the continuity, but Matt Nagy slides into the job he held before becoming head coach of the Bears. And, again, it all flows from Reid.
The other quarterbacks currently on the team are Blaine Gabbert and Shane Buechele. Last year in the divisional round of the playoffs, Chad Henne replaced Mahomes after he suffered an ankle injury, leading the Chiefs on a 98-yard touchdown drive before Mahomes re-entered the game.
Henne, now retired, performed well because he knew the system and the system knew him. Reid and company called the right plays at the right time to keep the Chiefs in contention until Mahomes could return to the game. Hell, maybe the Chiefs would have won even if Mahomes hadn’t been able to continue.
This year, the Chiefs will have Gabbert ready every week. And if/when he plays well, people will be surprised. They shouldn’t be. That’s what the Chiefs do -- whether it’s Henne or Matt Moore or Gabbert or whoever, the Chiefs (and Reid) know how to get quarterbacks ready to play.
Reid has been doing that for years, getting the most out of whoever is playing quarterback for him. Reid now has the best quarterback in the league, a generational talent who is already in contention to potentially be one of the best ever.
Would Mahomes be Mahomes without Reid? Would Reid be Reid without Mahomes? It doesn’t matter; they’re tied together. As long as they are, the Chiefs will be competing for more and more championships.
