Why Kyle Orton Could Well Be Kansas City Chiefs' QB of the Future

One of the key takeaways from the Kansas City Chiefs upsetting the undefeated Green Bay Packers is what a major upgrade Kyle Orton was at quarterback for the Chiefs.  Coming into the game, the Chiefs were averaging in the neighborhood of 180 yards per game—a putrid total.  Orton threw for 299 yards today in his first start for the Chiefs, and was generally competent in a way that neither Matt Cassel nor Tyler Palko have been all season.

So the question then becomes, can Orton be in the future plans of the Chiefs?  Based upon his performance today, one would have to think he has a legitimate shot to prove himself over the final two games and position himself as the starter-to-be going into the offseason.

The Chiefs will be picking around the low teens in this years draft, give or take a few slots based on how they finish.  At that slot, both of the top-tier QB prospects, Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III, will likely be off the board, though Matt Barkley could change that equation if he declares early.  Even if Barkley enters the draft, there’s a very good chance that the Chiefs will just barely miss out on the “best of the best” QB prospects.

So if the Chiefs step to the podium and the marquee QBs are off the board, a convincing argument could be made that they would be better off riding with Orton for another season and taking a stud offensive tackle with their first-round selection rather than taking a shot on a lesser QB or trading up into the top 10.

Much of this will come down to whether or not Orton can continue to impress over the last two weeks.  The other major variable is what the Chiefs do with their head coaching vacancy.  A new head coach very well could decide to wipe the slate and take his own QB.  But even in that scenario, it would seem that the Chiefs would still keep Orton around until the new guy is ready to take over.

Orton has never been greatly appreciated by his own team, as neither the Bears nor the Broncos hesitated to move on to someone else when the chance arose.  However, when a guy walks in and brings some immediate competence at QB to a team which has sorely needed it, it would be crazy not to give him a long, hard look.