Patrick Mahomes’ Mentor Confirms Jealousy as 3X Pro Bowler Reveals Chiefs QB’s True Character

Remember the playoff team that always found a way to trip? Before 2017, the Chiefs won divisions, made the playoffs, and flirted with becoming contenders, yet never broke through. The stats tell the story. Twenty percent playoff win rate from 2013–2017. The team’s QB is putting up 4,000+ yards and 26 touchdowns in his best season, but still no Super Bowl. But everything changed when Patrick Mahomes arrived. KC’s playoff win percentage soared to eighty-one percent. And suddenly, that old narrative started to vanish, and so did the patience of the man Mahomes was set to replace.

Alex Smith was still producing difference-making stats. Four playoff appearances in five seasons, a 50-26 record. Smith felt overlooked; his grip on the franchise felt undeservedly fragile. Then, draft day in 2017 hit. The front office switched the whole trajectory of the franchise and laid bare the roots of jealousy in the QB’s heart. 

That night, Alex Smith felt the gut punch, and he didn’t hide it. Years later, on The Pat McAfee Show, Smith set the record straight: “What the hell were they thinking?” That line captured every ounce of confusion and tension in the locker room. Thirteen years into his career, Smith saw the writing on the wall. He’d just put up his career-best numbers, but suddenly, “if I didn’t play good football, they were gonna find somebody that could.” The competition between the two wasn’t just about the job security; it also made him doubtful about himself.

In a raw conversation with Jason and Travis Kelce on New Heights, he broke down the emotion. When asked by Jason, “Talk about the introduction of Pat Mahomes. He credits you very often with welcoming him to the NFL and kind of being that mentor.” Alex started with the first time the two QBs met – how he would “never forget.” He even mentioned Mahomes is “different.” 

But then came the stark reality of the draft day shock: “Part of you is wondering, who are we taking in the first round, right? Like to go help us. You’re never expecting obviously to trade up, right? Like we here we’re trading next year’s first round, too, to go up and get a quarterback – It’s not what anybody wants to hear, right? – Like you just have such you have no control, right?” That confession laid bare a tangled mix of feelings. A deep admiration for Mahomes’ talent clashed with the gut-wrenching reality that the franchise had already penciled in his replacement. It’s the kind of jealousy that stings, fueled by the knowledge that the future was no longer his to hold.

Smith went personal, reflecting on how it felt to be a cog in the machine, forced to watch the front office remake the future without warning or empathy. “Like you’re you’re thrust into this process and you’re like a completely you’re a cog in the machine, right? Like you go where they tell you to go, pick number, whatever. You know, even now you sign the contract that’s slotted for that deal. I mean, obviously there was some empathy, you know, still from me as being an early pick. Like obviously Pat didn’t pick this. I didn’t pick this, right?” The doubts from his early career in San Francisco resurfaced – self-doubt, imposter syndrome, wondering if one mistake would sound the boo birds and doom tomorrow’s film session.

Being in the public eye after Mahomes’ arrival weighed heavily on him. “I would be ready. I’d be going out there to play and my mind would be like, ‘Oh, what are they going to what if I throw a pick? What are they going to write about me in the paper tomorrow? Like, God, what if they start booing me?’ Right? Like I had distracted myself with like my own internal dialogue and like doubt.” The pressure came from the constant gaze of fans and media, amplifying every mistake in his own head.

But he fought through it, “I was determined when I got to Kansas City like I will never be I’m not going to be distracted anymore, right? And so even once we drafted Pat too, there was almost like this great challenge like am I again everybody pitting us against each other.” But then that challenge soon gave way to a deeper understanding of the man behind the helmet.

The reality of Patrick Mahomes

Stats make headlines, but locker rooms run on relationships. Smith never saw attitude in Mahomes. Like he mentioned, he’ll never forget when he met Mahomes, how from the very start, the rookie showed nothing but respect and humility. “I think the other thing that just comes down with Pat and I try to tell people this like you you give respect, you get respect, right?” Smith said.

Awkwardness could have ruined the passing of the torch. Instead, honesty and mutual respect kept things real. “Like from day one, Pat came in and like there was never there was never like a prima donna ego. There was never like a, you know, he’s the man. He came in humble, ready to work. Uh just like a like a good kid. And it was pretty quick. It was like no big deal, honestly. No, no big deal.” Transparency helped KC move from a playoff team to a dynasty, with mentorship defining the transition rather than ego.

From the outside, the quarterback swap looked like it’d splinter the team. Inside, Smith and Mahomes built a bond. Advice flowed both ways, competition bred respect, and KC set the gold standard for professional growth. Mahomes looked to Smith for guidance, “He taught me so much about being a pro…He’s become a friend, someone I can look to for advice,” Mahomes said. In the end, the record books show what happened on the field. The locker room, though, remembers what true character looks like.