Things could have gone very differently for the New Orleans Saints — and for future Super Bowl-winning league MVP Patrick Mahomes. The former Texas Tech quarterback was a highly-valued prospect in the 2017 draft, and he ranked high on the Saints draft board. He ranked so highly, in fact, that the Saints would have picked him at No. 11 overall if the Kansas City Chiefs hadn’t leapfrogged them in a trade up to No. 10.
And Mahomes would have welcomed that opportunity. He was impressed by a predraft visit with Saints coach Sean Payton, who put him through a private workout and left quite a positive impression.