Kareem Hunt will remember a lot of things about his rookie season. He rushed for a league-high 1,327 yards, his Chiefs won the AFC West and he beat the Patriots.
He'll also remember playing with Alex Smith. The Chiefs' starting quarterback for the past five seasons is reportedly being traded to the Washington Redskins.
"He was a great leader," Hunt says. "He knew a lot about life, he taught me a lot, he's been around for a long time, so I was just happy to get to meet a guy like that. Alex was a great guy and he always was there for me if I had any questions about anything. I actually had Thanksgiving at his house."
Smith even cooked for his teammates that day. His food -- and his league-high 104.7 passer rating -- were not enough to retain his starting spot in Kansas City. Instead, the Chiefs are going with Patrick Mahomes, the No. 10 overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft.
"Like a day after the draft, Pat messaged me on Twitter, just saying, 'It's go time, we're going to be in KC together for a long time, so here's my number,'" Hunt says. "After that, we just started texting and became really good friends."
As for Mahomes' actual game -- he only played once in the regular season -- Hunt has seen more than outsiders have. He's had a front row seat for Chiefs practice for the past year.
"He's just a competitor," Hunt says. "He always wants to be successful and no matter what, he was always giving the defense a good look and just going out there and trying to make plays against the starting defense the whole time, and you know, he's a guy who has a very strong arm. He's putting passes in places that I don’t think he should be putting them there. Also, he's got a very strong arm. He's a strong kid. He's able to break tackles and still make throws, and he always keeps his eyes down the field."
The Alex Smith/Kareem Hunt Era was high-powered, but short-lived. Let the Patrick Mahomes/Kareem Hunt Era begin.
Hunt spoke to ThePostGame on behalf of Pepsi Rookie of the Year, which went Alvin Kamara. Hunt, Christian McCaffrey, Leonard Fournette and Marshon Lattimore were the other finalists.
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