KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The news for this week regarding the Kansas City Chiefs and their quarterback depth chart is that there is none. Rookie Patrick Mahomes II will stay as the No. 2 quarterback at least through Friday night’s preseason game against the Seahawks in Seattle.

Good for the Chiefs for rewarding his progress. But what choice did they really have? He led two scoring drives in two chances on Saturday night against the Cincinnati Bengals, both ending in touchdown passes.

There's no reason to demote Mahomes at this point. That would be caution for caution’s sake.

There’s a greater goal for the Chiefs regarding Mahomes that goes well beyond whether he spends the season as the No. 2 QB behind starter Alex Smith or as the No. 3 behind Smith and Tyler Bray: Don’t ruin him for the long term by playing him before his time.

What truly matters with Mahomes in 2017 is that he emerges as a better player for 2018 and beyond. But the Chiefs also can’t be blind to the reality that he’s growing faster than they thought he would.

“You’re not sure until they get here," said coach Andy Reid, coming as close to publicly acknowledging the obvious than anyone from the Chiefs has before. “You hear about the work ethic and all that but it’s just different at this level... It’s a matter of that effort and that’s kind of the unknown. I’ve been very pleased with that part of it.

“He’s a relentless worker. He wants to be the best. All those intangible things that you kind of heard about but you really don’t know until you have him, he’s kind of answered that part. It’s important he stays on top of it. Every day is a new experience for him. He hasn’t been through this before."

The Chiefs are looking for more from Mahomes than just what he does after a snap. They want to see him get the Chiefs in and out of a huddle in a timely manner (something he didn’t have to do in college). They want to see him skillfully manage the play clock. They want to see him check the Chiefs out of a play that is doomed to fail based on how the opposing defense is lined up.

He was promoted to No. 2 quarterback last week more for how he handled those things in the preseason opener against the San Francisco 49ers than how he played. Asked how Mahomes did in that regard against the Bengals, Reid said, “He did OK. ... There were a couple of little hiccups in there but nothing that was major."

None of this is to minimize the importance of Mahomes’ playing ability. That’s a key element, too, and more and more frequently he’s showing what led the Chiefs to trade up to draft him.

He’s making plays at times when none seem to be available. The vivid example from Cincinnati was his pass to Gavin Escobar after being chased out of the pocket by a defender. Mahomes made the throw while sprinting to his right and without having the chance to square his shoulders toward Escobar.

The completion came on a third-down play. Mahomes threw to De'Anthony Thomas for a touchdown on the next play.

That’s not the stuff of No. 3 quarterbacks. Mahomes is beyond that now, and the longer the Chiefs keep him as their top backup, the harder it’s going to be to move him out of that job.