![\"Dennis](\"https:\/\/www.gulflive.com\/resizer\/v2\/BMFXWJIODVHYVBYAAE7VIRHRUU.jpg?auth=ffdc758d6254e1e7a8c1a8d84e561a421f9edff096b57e2b5469c96aeff7b0f4&width=500&quality=90\")
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In 2017, the\u00a0New Orleans Saints\u00a0had the 11th overall pick in the NFL Draft. The Kansas City Chiefs traded up from 27th overall, along with a third-round pick and its 2018 first-rounder for the Buffalo Bills\u2019 10th pick. They drafted Patrick Mahomes with the pick, right before the Saints had a chance.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s no secret at this point that New Orleans \u2014 and former Saints coach Sean Payton specifically \u2014 wanted Mahomes. New Orleans coach Dennis Allen was the team\u2019s defensive coordinator at the time.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re sitting in the draft room and Drew (Brees) was in the back of the draft room which was just kind of a coincidence,\u201d Allen said Thursday. \u201cAnd we\u2019re sitting there like, \u2018We\u2019re gonna take (Mahomes) if he\u2019s there at our pick. And so I think everybody was kind of a little excited, little nervous at the same time. Kansas City obviously felt the same way that we did and moved ahead of us and took him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mahomes was \u201cthe best college quarterback I\u2019ve ever recruited\u201d, according to Payton. He and other Saints assistants flew to Lubbock to work out Mahomes at Texas Tech. Payton was \u201cblown away\u201d by Mahomes during the workout.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen you\u2019re trying to stealth out of the airport (after the workout) with no one seeing you, not stopping at a coffee shop, not getting any picture taken,\u201d Payton said on\u00a0Good Morning Football\u00a0in 2021. \u201cYou\u2019re just onto the next school like we didn\u2019t even go there.\u201d<\/p>\n
New Orleans ended up drafting Marshon Lattimore with the 11th pick. The Ohio State product won Defensive Rookie of the Year and is now a four-time Pro Bowler.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re extremely pleased with the player that we got,\u201d Allen said. \u201cHe\u2019s been a really good player for us.\u201d<\/p>\n
For a few minutes in New Orleans 2017 draft room, having Mahomes as the team\u2019s answer once Brees retired felt like a reality. Over seven years later it\u2019s just a distant \u201cwhat if\u201d, that\u2019ll be brought back up on occasion. This time that occasion is facing the three-time Super Bowl winner and two-time MVP on Monday Night Football.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
In 2017, the\u00a0New Orleans Saints\u00a0had the 11th overall pick in the NFL Draft. The Kansas City Chiefs traded up from 27th overall, along with a third-round pick… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":7415,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7414","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl"],"yoast_head":"\n