Kyle Shanahan wishes he had time machine because 49ers didn’t draft Patrick Mahomes
The San Francisco 49ers declined the fifth-year option on defensive lineman Solomon Thomas in May and he later signed with the Raiders.
Thomas was picked third overall in the 2017 NFL Draft by the 49ers, who had traded the second overall pick to the Chicago Bears.
That means San Francisco went into that draft on April 27 and could have draft quarterback Patrick Mahomes because the Browns were set to take defensive end Myles Garrett.
Hindsight is 20/20, of course. The 49ers were not the only team that didn’t realize Mahomes would become a superstar.
Nevertheless, 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan admitted he would go back if he could.
“Anybody who had a chance to take Patrick Mahomes or Deshaun (Watson) who didn’t, I mean, everyone wishes we had a time machine,” Shanahan told the Athletic’s Tim Kawakami on “The TK Show” podcast. “Those guys are proven and you know that now. At the time, it wasn’t as much of a slam dunk. ...
“Before I came here, I had a very good idea that we would be able to get a free-agent quarterback the next year, one that I knew we could win with. So you’re looking at these rookies, we’ve got the second pick in the draft, and no one at that time was considering those guys top-five picks, top-10 picks. But people knew they had some ability.”
Shanahan, who was hired in February 2017, said his first goal was to build a defensive line that could get the 49ers to the Super Bowl, but knew he also had to have a great quarterback to do it. So which one would come first?
At that time, Shanahan wasn’t sure Mahomes was the quarterback the 49ers needed. Going into the draft, Mahomes wasn’t considered a top available quarterback according to analysts. That seems silly now, even to Shanahan.
But Shanahan said missing on Mahomes didn’t impact the 49ers decision to select North Dakota State quarterback Trey Lance with the third overall pick in this year’s draft.
“Hell yeah, I wish I could go back and have Patrick Mahomes or Deshaun,” Shanahan said. “I think every other coach on the planet feels the same. But it’s two separate cases, and I don’t compare Trey to those guys either. I just know how important that position is; I know where our team’s at. We have a totally different team right now, and I know how the years have gone when our quarterback has been hurt.”
