Patrick Mahomes extension: How did teams pass on him in 2017?

First overall: Cleveland Browns

The Browns, at the time, were still in the league’s gutter. They were in the midst of the horrid Hue Jackson era, a head coach who was considered one of the more brilliant offensive minds in the league. And the Browns owned a versatile quarterback room with ageless wonder Josh McCown, a former 2016 third round pick in Cody Kessler, and signed Robert Griffin III in what was considered a fresh start for “RGIII” after his time in Washington.

But Griffin was hurt in his very first game with the Browns, derailing his season. While the young Kessler showed ability in relief, he wasn’t considered a franchise passer by many. They completed the 2016 season with a single victory, finishing 1-15 to secure the top pick for the 2017 NFL Draft. Griffin was then released in March.

Heading toward the 2017 NFL Draft, the Browns conducted a trade for former Houston Texans quarterback Brock Osweiler and took on his $16 million left in his contract. Funny enough, the trade was made with the intention of NOT giving Osweiler a chance to start. They, instead, released him, owing him the $16 million, but obtained a second round pick from the Texans. Essentially, the Browns went into the draft with Kessler as the incumbent starter but an open mind on quarterbacks.

With the first overall selection in the 2017 NFL Draft, the Cleveland Browns selected EDGE Myles Garrett. While the Browns hit a home run with this pick, considering Garrett is one of the top edge rushers in the league today, they still missed out on Patrick Mahomes.

The Browns instead selected Deshone Kizer in the second round to compete with the incumbent Kessler. Long story short, the Browns went winless, and both Kizer and Kessler are currently free agents without a team. Fortunately for Browns fans, the team landed on its feet by picking current starting quarterback Baker Mayfield with the top pick in 2018 and enter a new era today with Kevin Stefanski at head coach.

Second overall (TRADE): Chicago Bears

The Chicago Bears entered the 2016 season with John Fox at the helm and suffered back to back seasons with double-digit losses. Jay Cutler was the long-tenured starting quarterback that was nearing his end with the team. Despite a resurgence in play the year before, Cutler battled injuries throughout the 2016 season. The team finished 3-13, making it three straight years of double-digit losses and being last in the NFC North. After Cutler survived two coaching changes from Lovie Smith to Marc Trestman and then Trestman to Fox, the Bears cut the veteran quarterback.

All that was left was a desperate franchise and fan base hoping to find a savior under center, to replace and possibly surpass everything Cutler did for Chicago. Finishing with the third overall selection in the 2017 NFL Draft, Chicago was in the driver’s seat.

Eventually, the Bears traded up one spot to secure the second overall pick from the San Francisco 49ers. They decided to make Mitchell Trubisky the first quarterback off the board in a draft that had both Patrick Mahomes AND Deshaun Watson. Now, Trubisky is actually competing for his starting spot with newly acquired Nick Foles and in the ultimate sign that Chicago is ready to move on from Trubisky, they declined his fifth-year option. It’s safe to say that picking Trubisky was an all-time level blunder.

Third overall (TRADE): San Francisco 49ers

The 2016 NFL Season

The San Francisco 49ers’ 2016 season was a crazy one to remember. Then head coach Chip Kelly, ran out of Philadelphia before, lead the Bay Area team to a wildly subpar record at 2-14. He was promptly fired, along with former GM Trent Baalke. But more than that, the franchise was in the spotlight over how they handled the Colin Kaepernick protest. With all of the controversy, and horrid play by the team, Kaepernick eventually opted out of his contract, leaving the team devoid of a starting caliber QB. They were in prime position to find the next face of the team. They didn’t.

2017 NFL Draft

With the new year came a new era. New GM John Lynch took over the reins and hired Kyle Shanahan to lead the team. At third overall, after orchestrating their minor trade back, the team selected Solomon Thomas. Thomas was a highly-touted and versatile defensive lineman prospect and a building block in what is now a fearsome defensive front. But while the team has enjoyed success in recent years, Thomas hasn’t lived up to the hype, with only 6 career sacks in three seasons. On top of that, the team had to trade for Jimmy Garoppolo. Imagine if they had just picked Patrick Mahomes?