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Andy keeping Mahomes benched his first full year has always been such an underrated, thought provoking part of Mahomes development IMHO.
Mahomes was clearly slinging it in practice, on the scout team, etc. There's plenty of eye witness accounts and stories from players that Mahomes was already making heads turn. But Andy kept him benched that whole year, except the Week 17 Denver game.
Maybe it was out of respect to Alex Smith, but idk, Andy usually starts guys if he thinks they give him the best chance to win. I wonder what Andy saw in Mahomes that red shirt year that made him think he was still raw and needed another year in the oven. Footwork? Decision Making? Reading the defense? Just picking up the playbook and giving him time so he has more confidence in year 2? Idk what it was, but I'm glad it all worked out.
Makes me also think why other franchises don't do the same, except for the Packers. I guess job preservation is the first thing GMs and Head Coaches think about, so there's no time to "develop" a high round QB, they might be fired by then. They need to know what their return is on their investment right here and now.
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