The San Francisco 49ers had the No. 2 overall pick in the 2017 draft and still didn’t have a franchise quarterback on their roster. John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan were entering their first season together and they ultimately decided to move back a spot to take Stanford defensive lineman Solomon Thomas.
Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes was in that draft and Shanahan was asked on Tuesday what they thought of Mahomes at the time:
“I didn’t look into him, obviously, as much as I should have,” Shanahan said. “I mean, we definitely looked into him, studied all his tape. He was just a freak, could make any throw, had the ability to do anything. I think 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 you get and stuff, that he was going to go that high.”
Shanahan also explained how Kirk Cousins being in a contract year in Washington affected their decision.
“And it was a little bit different of a situation for us just because I think it’s pretty well documented of just the relationship I had with Kirk (Cousins), and being in Washington and everything. I felt very confident that he wasn’t going to stay there. So any time you go into a season knowing that a franchise quarterback is going to be available the next year, it made me a lot more picky with what we were looking at.”
Shanahan worked with Cousins when they were together with the Redskins.
The 49ers signed Brian Hoyer in free agency that offseason and drafted CJ Beathard in the third-round. The Chiefs made the big trade moving from No. 27 to No. 10 to take Mahomes. San Francisco traded for Jimmy Garoppolo prior to the 2017 trade deadline and Kirk Cousins signed with the Vikings the following offseason.
Cousins and the Vikings lost to Shanahan’s 49ers in the Divisional Round, while Mahomes gets to face off against the 49ers in Sunday’s Super Bowl.
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