49ers Reveal Why They Did Not Draft Patrick Mahomes
The 49ers revealed why they did not draft Patrick Mahomes this week.
Super Bowl LIV will feature an epic match up between Mahomes’ Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco.
The 49ers boast arguably the league’s best defense and a pretty solid quarterback in Jimmy Garoppolo.
While Garoppolo is a good option to have and a reliable game manager, he is obviously no Mahomes.
What is interesting about that is the fact that San Francisco had the opportunity to draft Mahomes and opted not to.
On Tuesday, while doing media, 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan explained why the organization ultimately passed on the generational talent in 2017.
Kyle Shanahan reveals why the 49ers passed on Patrick Mahomes in the 2017 NFL Draft. https://t.co/CKRE9ov3lF
— Tyler Sullivan (@TylerSully) January 28, 2020
“I didn’t look into him obviously as much as I should have,” Shanahan said.
“We definitely looked into him, studied all of his tape. Was just a freak, could make any throw, had the ability to anything.
“That was a little bit different situation for us. We had the second pick in the draft, did not feel like from all the intel that you get and stuff that he was gonna go that high.”
Shanahan and the Niners traded their No. 2 overall pick to the Chicago Bears, who ended up selecting Mitch Trubisky with the pick.
At No. 3, San Francisco took defensive end Solomon Thomas.
Both Mahomes and Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson were still on the board at the time.
According to Shanahan, a big reason why he passed on those guys was because he was waiting for Kirk Cousins to become available.
“It was a little different situation for us just ’cause I think it’s pretty well documented of just the relationship I had with Kirk being in Washington and I felt very confident that he wasn’t gonna stay there,” said Shanahan.
“So anytime you go into a season knowing that a franchise quarterback was going to be available the next year, it made me a lot more picky with what we were looking at.”
Cousins ended up with the Minnesota Vikings, Mahomes landed in Kansas City and the Niners got Garoppolo in a trade with the New England Patriots.
At the end of the day, while San Francisco would no doubt love having Mahomes, them playing in the Super Bowl is a sign that they are doing pretty well for themselves too.
Related: Denver Broncos Make Sudden Coaching Change
Jennifer Withers Hoey is a former Business Development Manager who transitioned to writing about sports. With valuable connections all over the West Coast, she has used those contacts to break some of the most interesting stories pertaining to the Portland Trail Blazers, Oregon Ducks, LA Lakers, LA Clippers, Seattle Supersonics (RIP), and more.
