Drew Brees Gives Chiefs' Travis Kelce Favorable AFC West Insight

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Travis Kelce had an intriguing question for Drew Brees after the quarterback earned entry to the Hall of Fame this month.

“Do you think the QBs in today's game are on a real short leash?” Kelce posed to Brees on Wednesday’s edition of New Heights. “Does it feel like that? Or do you think it's fair still that you gotta show up when you're called upon?”

brees, river — October 7, 2012; New Orleans, LA, USA; New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees (9) and San Diego Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers (17) talk after their game at Mercedes-Benz Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Chuck Cook - Imagn Images | Chuck Cook-Imagn Images

Brees, who sat for a year behind Doug Flutie with the San Diego Chargers before making his first NFL start, answered in the affirmative.

“I think we do most of them a disservice,” Brees told Kelce.

Sam Darnold's road to Super Bowl wasn't linear

The latest example is Sam Darnold, the Jets’ first-round selection (No. 3 overall) in the 2018 draft. Darnold joined a team with a returning head coach, but one in Todd Bowles with a defensive pedigree. His first offensive coordinator and playcaller was Jeremy Bates, who had one year of prior experience in that role, eight years earlier.

Darnold, who’d thrown only 846 passes in 27 games at Southern Cal, started immediately for the Jets. Rather than sitting behind veteran Josh McCown for a year, similar to the way Patrick Mahomes sat behind Alex Smith in 2017, Darnold dove head first into a shallow pool. No wonder he saw ghosts.

“I think there’s been a lot of quarterbacks that have been drafted high who have left the game and have been labeled a bust,” Hall of Famer Troy Aikman said in December on ESPN’s Monday Night Countdown. “And I think it’s unfair because I do feel that organizations and coaching have failed quarterbacks more than quarterbacks have failed organizations.

“I’ve been there. I’ve been around the best of the best. And I’ve been around others that aren’t as good.”

mahomes purd — Oct 20, 2024; Santa Clara, California, USA; Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) meets with San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy (13) after the game at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images | Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images

Brees has two theories

Mahomes is the best of the current best, according to Aikman’s former teammate Emmitt Smith. And Kelce was there every step as the Chiefs transitioned from Smith in 2018. Brees said every quarterback, during his early years or during Fernando Mendoza’s early years, needs two things – each of which Darnold didn’t get.

First, Brees told Kelce and his brother, Jason, is what the Chiefs did with Mahomes – a solid amount of time waiting and learning behind a proven veteran, like Smith. Green Bay did it twice in transitioning from Brett Favre to Aaron Rodgers and Rodgers to Jordan Love.

favre, rodger — Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers (12) meets with Minnesota Vikings quarterback Brett Favre at midfield on Oct. 5, 2009, at the Metrodome in Minneapolis. Photo by Evan Siegle/Press-Gazette | Green Bay Press-Gazette

The second is something the Chiefs sawi n Super Bowl 58 when Brock Purdy gave them a serious run in an overtime thriller: A quarterback like Mahomes who had enough passes in college.

“I think you need roughly 50 high-level starts before you are really there and ready,” Brees said. “Plenty of times we've seen potential drafted, but they only had 15 college starts. Well, if that's the case, it's going to take them three years before they're ready.

“I think it's the number of starts, really, that has a lot to do with their readiness.”

Chiefs Kingdom, Kansas City is back leading the division, knotted in a first-place tie. So, keep that browser here at OnSI, your best source for first-place news. Be sure to sign up for our FREE newsletter with the latest info emailed each morning … SIGN UP HERE NOW.