Seven years ago, Sean Payton and the New Orleans Saints were prepared to select Texas Tech quarterback Patrick Mahomes with the 11th overall pick in the 2017 NFL draft.
Before the Saints went on the clock, the Kansas City Chiefs traded up to pick No. 10, jumping above New Orleans.
“We were picking at 11, Andy [Reid] went to 10,” Payton recalled in 2021. “And as soon as that trade took place we knew it was Mahomes.”
The Saints pivoted and picked cornerback Marshon Lattimore after KC moved up. Fast forward a few years (and three Super Bowl titles for Mahomes) later and Payton is now coaching the Denver Broncos.
Payton stayed put at No. 12 in the first round of Thursday’s NFL draft and he picked Oregon quarterback Bo Nix. After the Broncos made that pick, ESPN’s Adam Schefter tweeted that Payton “feels as strongly about Bo Nix as he did Mahomes.”
Sean Payton wanted and intended to draft Patrick Mahomes in the 2017 draft, when he held the 11thoverall pick. He was ready to turn in the card. But before he could, the Chiefs traded up to the Bills’ spot at No. 10 and took Mahomes one spot before Payton got him, leaving the… https://t.co/GdsRSCqryx
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) April 26, 2024
This obviously does not mean Nix will become “the next Patrick Mahomes,” but it’s a good sign that Payton is so confident in the QB prospect, the same way he was confident in Mahomes as a prospect in 2017.
Nix will make his debut for the Broncos during preseason in August.
