Imagine if one of the most offensively dynamic head coaches in the league would have landed Patrick Mahomes. No, not Andy Reid. Sean Payton is one of the most creative minds when it comes to offensive play calling in the NFL. Former head coach of the New Orleans Saints revealed he nearly drafted Patrick Mahomes.

Sean Payton has had a rich and eventful career in the NFL. The man started his career in the NFL as a quarterback coach for the Philadelphia Eagles in 1997. He went on to be appointed as a head coach in 2006 when he joined the New Orleans Saints. It only took him three years to win a super bowl.

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In 2009, the Saints won with Drew Brees as the quarterback. Payton has come to be known for his offensive shot calling. The coach sat down with popular Colin Cowherd on his show, The Herd. When asked about Patrick Mahomes, the former coach had nothing but praises for the quarterback.

Sean Payton on why he thinks Patrick Mahomes is the best right now

Patrick Mahomes, the Kansas City Chiefs quarterback, threw 5 touchdown passes in the match against Arizona Cardinals. Nothing out of the ordinary for the player, who has an exceptional caliber as both a passer and moving on his feet.

While talking about his performance, Payton said, “he is the best.” According to him, Mahomes offers too much and you just can’t keep him quiet in a match.

Preparing for the 2017 NFL draft, even though the Saints still had Drew Brees, Payton was on the lookout for a quarterback. One of the players who was very high on his list was Patrick Mahomes. As the man said it himself, he was simply mesmerized by watching Mahomes play in college.

He was completely sold on Mahomes as the successor for Brees. “I said ‘look, we’re going right to the plane, we’re not stopping anywhere, no one knows that we’re here. That’s our next quarterback.”

Things nearly went as planned. During the Draft night, Mahomes was still available after 9 picks. However, Kansas City Chiefs traded up to the tenth pick to draft him. Coming so close to actually getting the man, it must have been a hard pill to swallow. They did end up getting Lattimore, who was also very high on their list at the time.

Brett Favre comparisons early on

Sean Payton also drew comparisons between Mahomes and Brett Favre. He said “He reminded me of Favre. He had that, not just gunslinger, but he could torque his body and he could create speed on the ball without the feet having to be set or perfectly set.” 

It just goes on to show the level of admiration Sean Payton had for the player. Patrick Mahomes has now developed into one of the best quarterbacks in the league. His throwing talent matched up with his athletic ability is something to appreciate even if you’re a rival fan. Mahomes ended up joining Andy Reid instead and paired up with Travis Kelce winning a super bowl in 2020.

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