When all is said and done, Patrick Mahomes will go down as one of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history.He has spearheaded a Kansas City Chiefs dynasty that has won the Super Bowl three times since 2019, and scooped the Most Valuable Player award in each of those games.Mahomes has lifted the Vince Lombardi trophy three times with the ChiefsGettyMahomes has also been named the NFL‘s season MVP on two occasions, an individual accolade that followed his league-leading numbers for passing touchdowns in 2018 and 2022.He has never failed to make the playoffs, and has guided the Chiefs to the AFC Championship Game in every season he’s played since being named starter.Just last week, Mahomes became the fastest player in NFL history to reach 250 career touchdown passes, doing so in 116 regular-season games.Now 30-years-old, he is showing few signs of slowing down. After Kansas City were denied a historic Super Bowl three-peat in 2024, Mahomes is leading the team on a revenge tour of sorts, aiming to silence the many doubters who claim Chiefs Kingdom is crumbling.Next up for the 2-2 franchise is a tough trip to EverBank Stadium to face the 3-1 Jacksonville Jaguars in Monday Night Football.Kansas City are in the ascendancy once more, having picked up back-to-back wins, and will be hoping for a statement win against one of the surprise packages of the season so far.Much of the expectation in 2025, once again, weighs on the shoulders of Mahomes as he looks to write the next chapter of a historic run.But while the star quarterback will rightly take all the acclaim for what is hoped to be another exciting season in KC, it was actually another signal caller who handed him the keys to Chiefs Kingdom eight years ago.Unsung hero helped launch Chiefs dynasty and Mahomes’ careerKansas City selected Mahomes with the 10th overall pick of the 2017 NFL Draft. Originally slated to have the 27th pick, the team traded up with the Buffalo Bills to get their man.Mahomes arrived in Kansas City and sat behind Smith in his rookie yearGettyIn doing so, head coach Andy Reid and the front office effectively ended the Alex Smith era, and made it clear that the 2017 season would be his last with the Chiefs.But instead of kicking up a fuss, or actively sabotaging his understudy in the early days — as Smith had seen in other locker rooms — the veteran made a conscious decision to mentor and nurture a young Mahomes.According to many in the organization, that was the moment Kansas City’s ‘dynastic run’ began.“I didn’t go up to Alex and go, ‘Hey, will you teach this guy who’s going to take your job?'” Reid said, in a new report from ESPN’sNate Taylor that explores how the Chiefs built their dynasty.“That’s not how it worked. I go, ‘Don’t worry about that guy. You just go have your best year.’“He did that — and at the same time he let Patrick into his world.”Smith is credited with ‘letting Mahomes into his world’ and helping build the dynastyGettyHow did Smith mentor a young Mahomes?Smith’s approach to helping Mahomes has been described by teammates and staff as ‘selfless’ — and was an extension of the incredible culture that Coach Reid had instilled in the Chiefs.It was also different to what the quarterback had heard from other locker rooms.“Aaron (Rodgers) and I were drafted the same year,” Smith told ESPN.“I heard about he and Brett (Favre) and that it wasn’t great. We signed up to play a team sport. I remember just promising (Mahomes) that I would never undercut him.”Smith made a decision to mentor and nurture Mahomes, rather than undercut himGettyNot only did Mahomes spend almost his entire rookie season observing Smith on the field, but during the week, the veteran also invited him into the film room.What did Mahomes learn behind Chiefs veteran Smith?Smith was ‘meticulous’ when it came to those sessions.Taylor writes: “He had a different film session — red zone, third-down plays, deep passes, the opponent’s secondary and the opponent’s blitzes — for each day of the workweek leading up to the game.Smith also helped Mahomes understand how he ‘processed information from the defense before and after the ball was snapped’ and ‘why he made certain decisions within the framework of Reid’s scheme’.Mahomes credits Smith with helping teach him an important NFL lessonGettyAll these years later, and Kansas City’s franchise quarterback believes Smith offered him some important advice that ‘young guys’ don’t learn these days.“Sometimes you see rookie quarterbacks in certain situations where they don’t have answers,” Mahomes told ESPN.“They don’t have a game plan of how they’re going to attack. You have to have a plan of, ‘If it’s not there, where am I going to go and how am I not going to create a negative play?’“That’s stuff that I learned from Alex. You’re not always going to be right, but if you’re not right, where is your answer?Mahomes believes some rookies are not helped as much as he wasGetty“I wanted to be perfect with every protection call. But he would always say, ‘I have this plan, but if it’s not there, I know where I can get the ball out.’“That’s stuff that a lot of young guys don’t know.”Few, realistically, would have foreseen Mahomes hitting the heights he has with the Chiefs.Indeed, he was projected to be a first or second round pick by many analysts in 2017, but no one was expecting him to lead the kind of dynasty that has smashed so many records in recent years.NFL's Greatest......Ranking the top 10......Quarterbacks of all-time – Can anyone better Tom Brady?Wide receivers of all-time – Does Randy Moss or Jerry Rice come out on top?Running backs of all-time – Stacking Jim Brown, Barry Sanders, Walter Payton, Emmitt Smith and moreTight ends of all-time – How does Travis Kelce compare?Much of that success is down to the man himself, as well as Coach Reid and his teammates. Some of it, undoubtedly, is also thanks to Smith.Stay up to date with the latest from the NFL across all platforms – follow our dedicated talkSPORT USA Facebook page and subscribe to our talkSPORT USA YouTube channel for all the news, exclusives, interviews and more.