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The Kansas City Chiefs selected Patrick Mahomes tenth overall in the 2017 NFL Draft. No one doubts that decision anymore after the former Texas Tech standout led the AFC West squad to two Super Bowl championships in four seasons.
But Mahomes wearing the Chiefs’ colors nearly didn’t happen, as the two-time NFL Most Valuable Player revealed to Pardon My Take’s Dan “Big Cat” Katz.
Katz inquired:
“Was there one team that you thought for sure you were gonna go to?”
Mahomes answered:
“There’s a couple of teams. The Chiefs, I thought for sure I would go here. The Cardinals, they liked me a lot. And the Saints, those are the teams that really liked me.”
He added:
"Then the Saints, though. I'd be still backing up Drew [Brees], man...When the guys throwing for the stuff he's throwing for, you're fine with just backing him up and learning as much as possible."
The Cardinals had the 13th overall pick in that year’s draft. But with Mahomes going to Kansas City, they took outside linebacker, Haason Reddick. He earned his first Pro Bowl and All-Pro selections last year but with the Philadelphia Eagles.
Meanwhile, the Saints held the 11th pick in round one. However, they took cornerback Marshon Lattimore after Kansas City selected Mahomes.
Otherwise, the Saints could have transitioned from Brees to Mahomes after the former retired after the 2020 season.
Patrick Mahomes could have gone off the board earlier
Earlier in the video, Katz asked Patrick Mahomes:
“How close was Hue Jackson in drafting you?”
The five-time Pro Bowler answered:
“I think pretty close. I think I would never know for sure. But they did like me a lot.”
Jackson was the head coach of the 2017 Cleveland Browns squad. Instead, they took defensive end Myles Garrett with the first overall pick.
While Garrett blossomed into a four-time All-Pro player, taking Mahomes might have changed the Browns’ fortunes that year.
Cleveland became the second team in NFL history to finish with an 0-16 regular season. They’ve only had six losses decided by one possession.
Katz asked again:
“Did the Bears reach out to you?”
The three-time All-Pro quarterback responded:
“I talked to Ryan Pace a lot, honestly. Definitely, Mitch [Trubisky] was their guy. They went and got them. But I met with them. I had the visit with them and everything.”
The Chicago Bears made Mitchell Trubisky the first quarterback selected in the 2017 draft, eight spots before Patrick Mahomes. While he had modest success with the Bears, he never led the team to a playoff victory in two appearances.
After four seasons in Chicago, Trubisky signed up as Josh Allen’s backup with the Buffalo Bills. In 2022, he signed a two-year deal with the Pittsburgh Steelers. However, the starting quarterback job went to rookie Kenny Pickett.
Conversely, Patrick Mahomes led the Chiefs to the AFC Championship Game in every season he started. They’ve had three Super Bowl appearances, winning two, including Super Bowl LIV against the San Francisco 49ers.
