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Kyle Shanahan talks passing on Patrick Mahomes, Deshaun Watson in the 2017 NFL draft
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Last week, Kyle Shanahan was a guest on "The TK Show" with The Athletic's Tim Kawakami. He got the chance to discuss the San Francisco 49ers' offseason program, his thoughts on rookie Trey Lance, new defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans, and most intriguingly, passing on star quarterbacks Patrick Mahomes and Deshaun Watson in the 2017 NFL Draft.
"Anybody who had a chance to take Patrick Mahomes or Deshaun who didn't, I mean, everyone wishes we had a time machine," Shanahan said. "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 … and no one at that time was considering those guys top-five picks, top-ten picks."
When talking about that "free-agent quarterback," Shanahan was almost certainly alluding to his former Washington quarterback Kirk Cousins. However, the team deviated from the plan when trading for New England Patriots quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo during the 2017 NFL season in exchange for a 2018 second-round pick. Garoppolo ended the season 5-0, ultimately securing his future with the 49ers as he signed a five-year, $137.5 million deal, which at the time was the largest contract in NFL history on an average year-to-year basis.
During the show, Shanahan also touched on the selection of Trey Lance and assured that the Lance pick was not influenced by the team's previous mistakes in passing on Watson and Mahomes. While he acknowledged the prior flaws, Shanahan expressed that the situation in 2017 and currently are different.
"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."
You can catch the rest of the episode here:
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