KANSAS CITY, Mo. – For 34 years, the Kansas City Chiefs’ strategy for solving their long-term quarterback situation through the draft was to hope the right guy fell to them in the first round.

Hope, as they say, is no strategy at all, and so the Chiefs failed to draft a quarterback in the opening round since pulling Todd Blackledge out of Penn State in 1983.

That’s why the Chiefs deserve credit for Thursday night’s bold move to jump 17 spots in the first round to grab Texas Tech quarterback Patrick Mahomes, whether the trade eventually works out or not. They’re trying to get things right for the long term at a most important position that suffered from neglect, at least when it comes to the draft, for 34 long and often desperate seasons.

“There’s going to be a day when Alex [Smith] isn’t playing anymore and you’ve got to have somebody that can step in and go,’’ coach Andy Reid said. “We feel like this kid, with some growth, will be in position to do that.

“This gives an opportunity for Kansas City to have that position in pretty good hands, I think, for a good period of time.’’

The Chiefs’ long-term picture at quarterback was fuzzy at best. Smith turns 33 in May and has two years left on his contract. With no top prospect on the bench behind him, the future at quarterback in Kansas City looked dubious at best, as it frequently has over the years. The Chiefs were going to have to do something soon or risk a return to finding another team’s backup to be their starter.

This time, they did something. It came at a cost. The Chiefs gave their first pick, 27th in the first round, plus their first-round choice next year and a third-rounder this year, to the Buffalo Bills in order to jump to the 10th spot.

But they got their young quarterback, someone who isn’t another team’s retread. That puts the Chiefs in a different place at quarterback than they’ve been since 1983.

“We’re always trying to find a quarterback, [and] everybody liked this guy,’’ Reid said. “We couldn’t find anybody that didn’t like him.

“Everybody just kind of fell in love with the kid and what he was all about and how he went about his business and how he played. That doesn’t happen every year. When that happens ... if you have one of those guys you like, you go get him.’’

The timing here is a key part of the equation. Mahomes, by Reid’s acknowledgment, needs time to develop. He played in the spread offense at Texas Tech, so he needs to learn to play from under center, among other things.

The Chiefs can afford him a year and perhaps two because they have Smith. They don’t have to rush Mahomes into the lineup.

“Right now, Patrick is not absolutely ready to play,’’ Reid said. “He’s got some work to do. We have to be patient with him. He’s definitely not a finished product right now.

“But he has tremendous upside. We think he’ll fit into this offense very well. He’s a good person. He’s intelligent. He’s got great skill. I just think he’ll be a great Kansas City Chief when it’s all said and done.’’

The move is a gamble for the Chiefs. It’s always a gamble to draft a quarterback, and even more so for those who played in the spread in college. They’ve traditionally had trouble transitioning to the NFL.

But it’s a gamble every team has to take once in awhile. The Chiefs were overdue to take it.