Patrick Mahomes Closing In on History — Just 3,299 Yards from Shattering Alex Smith’s Record!

Alex Smith and Patrick Mahomes
Credit – USA TODAY Sports

The first eight years of Patrick Mahomes’ NFL career have been nothing short of unprecedented. He’s already managed to produce five AFC Championships and three Lombardi trophies for the Kansas City Chiefs, making him the greatest signal caller in the history of the franchise.

Nevertheless, Mahomes figures to continue cementing his place as the greatest Chief of all-time throughout the upcoming 2025 regular season, where he’s now projected to shatter his predecessor’s career record. The former face of Kansas City, Alex Smith, retired with a career total of 35,650 passing yards, good for the 31st most in NFL history.

However, the Chiefs’ newest golden boy has already managed to accumulate 32,352 passing yards, meaning that Mahomes needs to only produce 3299 more passing yards to take Smith’s place in the all-time rankings. Seeing as he’s currently averaging an astounding 4,910 passing yards per 17-game season, barring any major setbacks or injuries, Mahomes is poised to absolutely demolish Smith’s career metrics.

Should Mahomes stay in line with his average and produce exactly 4,910 passing yards in 2025, he’d ultimately finish the season with a career total of 37,262 passing yards, the 30th most in NFL history. Heading into the 2026 regular season, that would place him just 14 yards shy of Donovan McNabb’s record.

While some players may be bothered by the fact that the next man up managed to break their records, Smith showed nothing but gratitude and humility throughout the process of passing the torch to Mahomes. In fact, the two of them have shared a tangible friendship ever since they first crossed paths.

During a recent interview, Smith even noted that “He was at my house on Thanksgiving.” Determined to fulfill his role as a mentor, Smith was more than willing to show Mahomes the process behind everything.

From gameday preparations to showing him how the team handles wins and losses, the veteran made sure that his successor was well equipped for the life that was ahead of him. Even once the pads had come off, Smith still felt obligated to continue teaching the rookie about the do’s and don’ts of everything else that comes with being a starting quarterback in the NFL.

“He’s a young guy like, we’d go out at QB dinners, and I have to tell him, ‘Stop putting ketchup on your steak. This is a nice steakhouse, we don’t have to drink Coors Lite, Patrick.’”

According to Smith, the prevailing culture within the Chiefs’ locker room is that “You do everything together,” so the best way to convey that message was to take Mahomes with him everywhere. Mahomes may go on to break his records, and he may have already stolen his place as the most celebrated quarterback in franchise history, but in the end, Smith’s humility allowed for a peaceful and seamless transition into the modern dynasty that we know today.

That kind act alone will be more than enough to keep him in the hearts of the Kansas City faithful for the foreseeable future.