What It Means:

Mahomes was the third quarterback through the rotation in his NFL debut, entering the game in the second quarter after Alex Smith and Tyler Bray. The rookie dropped a dime to Demarcus Robinson for a 41-yard gain down the right sideline on his first drop back, but it was called back on a penalty. It was a relatively quiet performance the rest of the way, but he led a short field goal drive in the third and capitalized on a blocked punt with a one-yard touchdown later in the quarter. Mahomes will almost certainly jump Bray in the near future, but Smith is locked into the starting job.

Our models project Mahomes for 343 passing yards, 2.07 touchdowns, and 1.46 interceptions on 49 attempts in the 2017 season. He's not a fantasy factor while Alex Smith is still starting.