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Kyle Shanahan shares how Kirk Cousins influenced the 49ers’ decision to pass on drafting Patrick Mahomes
Jan 28, 2020 at 10:16 AM
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The San Francisco 49ers passed on drafting Patrick Mahomes during Kyle Shanahan's and John Lynch's first season together. Of course, so did a lot of teams. The 49ers, however, were in a different situation. They owned a very high draft pick, and many — mistakenly — didn't see Mahomes as a value with a high first-round selection.
The Chiefs did, however, and moved up in the draft to pick the former Texas Tech quarterback.
49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan spoke with reporters from the J.W. Marriott Marquis in downtown Miami on Tuesday and was asked how much research they did on Mahomes leading into the 2017 draft.
"I didn't look into him, obviously, as much as I should have," Shanahan admitted before a slight smile crossed his face. "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.
"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.
"You saw a bunch of talented guys in that draft, but it's very tough when you watch college systems and stuff. You don't really know until you get someone in the building. I mean, you can see ability, you can see talent, but how's the mind? How do they play in the pocket? How do they process? That's not just an IQ score. That's some stuff that I don't think you can totally test. You've got to go through that with them. So there's always a risk with that when you spend a first-round pick on a quarterback.
"With the situation we were in, we didn't want to be that risky, especially with the second pick in the draft. We didn't [study Mahomes] as hard. Obviously, he ended up being one of the best players in the league, along with a couple of other quarterbacks that year. He's extremely talented."
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