The tale of the Kansas City Chiefs trading up in the 2017 NFL draft to select Patrick Mahomes has been told from many different angles. According to another source, the franchise-changing and league-altering moment could’ve gone a different way.
Front office veteran Mike Lombardi appeared as a guest on Wednesday’s episode of “The Pat McAfee Show” to share his thoughts on this year’s NFL draft. He provided an example of Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton’s mindset in evaluating quarterbacks in the draft process.
“Let’s just say that Sean Payton has really done a good job in his career of evaluating quarterbacks when he was with Bill Parcells in Dallas,” said Lombardi. “He wanted Tony Romo, so they signed him as a college free agent.”
"I do believe there will be six Quarterbacks taken in the first round..
Sean Payton wanted to draft Patrick Mahomes but he lost out to the Chiefs..
If he likes a Quarterback you gotta believe that he's gonna draft him" ~ @mlombardiNFL #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/kovH1dYC9B
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) April 24, 2024
Lombardi pointed out a specific example of Payton’s plans from the 2017 draft. As head coach of the New Orleans Saints, he sought a deal to move up and select Mahomes.
“Some of these teams see some things in the quarterbacks that they can make them better players,” Lombardi said. “Remember, Sean Payton wanted to draft Mahomes; he lost out. Think about how the league would have been dramatically different had the Saints made that trade and not the Chiefs.
“I don’t think if Sean likes a quarterback, and I don’t know if he likes to go next or not, I have no idea. But if he likes one, you [have got to] believe he likes them for a reason. He’s going to develop them.”
The Chiefs landed one of the greatest quarterbacks in league history and haven’t looked back. Payton and the Broncos are evaluating many options in this weekend’s draft to try to score a franchise quarterback.