Dan Orlovsky Drops Truth Bomb on Patrick Mahomes and Chiefs’ Operation

• "It's like a slow fade with Patrick [Mahomes] in Kansas City where you can just see over the course of - let's call it the last two-and-a-half years or so - the demand for him to kind of constantly do more and bear more and burden more," Orlovsky said. "It's so easy for everyone to say, 'Well, yeah you're Patrick Mahomes, you can and you should.' That's just not real. Just because you can, and he has, doesn't mean that you want that to be the course and the majority of an 18-game season and into the playoffs when everybody else is getting paid as well."

Chiefs Need to Adjust the Scheme

• "I've been outspoken that there's a lot of scheme things that, in Kansas City, I still think are and have lacked," Orlovsky said. "I've been outspoken [to] go under center more, put bigger bodies on the field. That doesn't make him [Mahomes] a lesser player. I still think he's going to be at the highest end. He just doesn't have to do it 45 snaps a game."

"I think it helps everybody else, it doesn't just help Patrick," Orlovsky continued. "Patrick is still the most player at the position. I still think he's the best player at the position. Are guys playing better than him over this past year? Yes. That doesn't mean that they are, it's just that maybe they're in a little bit healthier situation; they're not asked to do as much."

Impact of Bieniemy's Return

"I'll be interested in what [offensive coordinator] [Eric] Bieniemy coming back and no longer Matt Nagy being there, how they evolve," Orlovsky said. "I don't think that you can live in a, 'Well, 80 percent of our snaps are going to be [run-pass options].' I just don't think you can do that nowadays. Six years ago, they could and they did, and it was great, but it's a different era right now."

Overall Thoughts

Everything that Orlovsky said was true, and the harsh reality is that Kansas City was ill-prepared this past season, thinking Mahomes could mask every blemish on the roster. Instead of focusing on improving in several areas, the Chiefs' front office and coaching staff asked the three-time Super Bowl MVP to excel with subpar personnel at multiple positions.