The San Francisco 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs are about to kick off Super Bowl LVIII. Patrick Mahomes and Brock Purdy are the quarterbacks for both teams. Most people believe that they could not have had two more polar opposite journeys in the NFL.
Despite getting drafted five years apart, there is a deeper connection between these two quarterbacks. Read below to find out more about that connection.
San Francisco 49ers Passed on Patrick Mahomes in 2017
Back in 2017, the San Francisco 49ers originally had the second overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft. However, they ended up trading that pick to the Chicago Bears. Infamously, the Bears used that pick to draft QB Mitchell Trubisky.
The 49ers passed on Mahomes and ended up drafting DE Solomon Thomas. They did not end up drafting a quarterback in that draft until the third round. That ended up being C.J. Beathard.
Reportedly, San Francisco wanted to hold out to sign Kirk Cousins in free agency the next season. However, that did not end up coming to fruition. Part of the reason was because of one specific trade.
Trade Created Domino Effect
One notable trade that happened was the New England Patriots trading QB Jimmy Garoppolo to the 49ers. That ended up temporarily solving their quarterback issues. As a result, San Francisco no longer felt the need to pursue Kirk Cousins and did not need C.J. Beathard.
So, this led to Beathard leaving the 49ers for the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2021. However, the 49ers still gained something from his departure. San Francisco was able to get a seventh-round compensatory pick in the 2022 NFL Draft for Beathard.
Do you know what that pick led to? If you answered Brock Purdy, you would be correct.
San Francisco 49ers Today
Do the 49ers regret passing on Patrick Mahomes? Perhaps so considering Mahomes is the quarterback that beat them in the Super Bowl four years ago. Plus, Mahomes could have teamed up with head coach Kyle Shanahan.
However, there is no doubt the team would look a lot different today if they had Mahomes over Purdy. The 49ers certainly would not be able to afford the star supporting cast they currently have. Ironically, RB Christian McCaffrey got drafted two picks higher than Mahomes in the 2017 NFL Draft.
You can argue all nine teams that picked ahead of the Chiefs in 2017 are kicking themselves for not drafting Mahomes. Still, there is no doubt the 49ers have done well for themselves at the quarterback position considering what they had to work with.
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