During the 2017 draft, ten different teams had the chance to draft Patrick Mahomes, but the Chiefs took the 3-time Super Bowl champion 10th overall. So who were the nine players that teams thought were better picks than Mahomes? And where are they now?
Here are the 9 players drafted before Patrick Mahomes in the 2017 NFL draft:
No.1 Overall Pick: Myles Garrett, Defensive End
To say that Myles Garrett dominated during his career thus far would be an extreme understatement. Garrett has produced some of the best pass-rushing numbers the NFL has ever seen, especially during his 2021 season, where he recorded an astonishing 16 sacks and 33 QB hits. Okay, maybe "Astonishing" is a bit of a stretch, but his stats were pretty impressive. What was also impressive is Garrett's unmatched speed for his 6'4, 272 lb frame that opposing O-linemen simply can't compete with.
That being said, most of Myles Garrett's prime years have been wasted on a dysfunctional Browns team that never quite has what it takes to compete for a Super Bowl but is never bad enough to get a franchise-changing draft pick. And Cleveland spent all their free agent money on Deshaun Watson, and I don't need to say how much of a disaster that was. It's a crying shame that Myles Garrett is stuck on the Browns because he would be a crucial asset to any team with a functional organization.
No. 2 Overall Pick: Mitchell Trubisky, Quarterback
Of all of these nine teams, the Bears are kicking themselves the most because they actually needed a quarterback but drafted a very inferior QB compared to Mahomes. One of the most infamous NFL draft blunders was actually a success until 2019, with the Bears making a surprising playoff appearance just two seasons after drafting Mitch Trubisky. However, Chicago didn't have an impressive 12-4 2018 season because of Trubisky's play, and that became painfully apparent in the following years. Trubisky's annual 3,100 passing yards and roughly 90 passer rating reflects a game manager, rather than a game changer, which makes him a reliable backup, but that's not why the Bears drafted him No.2 overall.
In 2020, Chicago brought in Nick Foles to compete for the starting spot, and Mitch Trubisky has been a journeyman backup since then. But the Trubisky draft bust was especially painful for the Bears, because they had a top-five defense at the time, thus drafting Patrick Mahomes would have made them clear Super Bowl favorites.
No. 3 overall pick: Solomon Thomas, Defensive Tackle
Solomon Thomas didn't have to travel very far to play for his new team, as the rookie Defensive end was drafted by the 49ers out of Stanford. But Thomas failed to add much value to his team during his rookie season or in his entire career. Thomas's best career season was 2023, where he recorded a whopping 5 sacks. After four disappointing seasons in San Francisco, it was clear that Solomon Thomas was a bust, and he was subsequently traded to the Raiders. Thomas is still in the NFL, though, and he currently plays for the Jets. Solomon Thomas is one of those players whose talents in College just didn't convert to the NFL level, and unfortunately, this 49ers' early-round draft bust in the 2010s was one of many.
But if San Francisco had taken a better player in the first round besides Mahomes, preferably Hassaan Reddick or Mike Williams, it would have likely been enough to win one or both nail-biting Super Bowl losses to the Chiefs.
No. 4 overall pick: Leonard Fournette, Running Back
Being picked fourth overall as a running back comes with hefty expectations. And while Leonard Fournette didn't exactly meet or exceed those highly substantial expectations, he did have a solid career and added plenty of value to his team's backfield. Fournette only recorded two 1,000+ yard seasons, both with the Jaguars, as his time in Tampa Bay was riddled with injury and inconsistency.
Nevertheless, Fournette did have an exceptional postseason performance in 2020, which considerably helped the Bucs win their second Super Bowl in franchise history. But Fournette's stellar playoff outing also caused him to become overrated, as his regular season production never quite lived up to his postseason stats. Leonard Fournette now plays for the Bills and has entered the twilight of his career, with the former 1,000-yard rusher recording just 40 yards on 12 carries in 2023.
However, the Jaguars had one of the league's best defenses in 2017, hence drafting Mahomes nearly guaranteed a Super Bowl victory, especially since the Jags were ten minutes away from making Super Bowl LII with Blake Bortles at quarterback. Jacksonville would have been much better off if they scrapped Bortles and drafted Mahomes, and they could have addressed their lack of talent in the backfield in the 2018 draft, one of the best running back draft classes.
No. 5 overall pick: Corey Davis, Wide Reciever
There were only two picks in the 2017 draft before Patrick Mahomes that were hits, and Corey Davis was not one of them. Injuries limited Davis's rookie season to just 11 games, but only 891 yards in 2018 as a WR1 just wasn't enough production, and the Titans drafted A.J. Brown, a much more successful receiver, in the following draft. After Tennessee drafted Brown, Davis was curiously moved from wide receiver to tight end, but the position change only worsened his play, and Davis was moved back just one season later.
With defenses putting more of their focus on A.J. Brown, Corey Davis recorded a career-best 984 yards in 2021. And after that season, the Titans sold high on Davis, sending him to East Rutherford, New Jersey, to play for the Jets. Davis has been a WR3 during his time with the Jets, and don't expect that to change.
The primary reason behind Corey Davis's underwhelming NFL outing is his lack of versatility, as Davis has only run one jet sweep in his entire career, and his low catch percentages reflect his lack of success in tight windows. The Titans couldn't plug Davis into many different situations, and defenses figured him out easily, as a result.
No.6 Overall Pick: Jamal Adams, Safety
Since the Jets were the 6th worst team in 2016, they obviously needed help on both sides of the ball, and Jamal Adams provided plenty of support in the Jets' secondary during his time in New York. And for the first four years of Adams's career, he was considered one of the league's elite safeties, reaching three Pro Bowls during that span of time.
But the Jets certainly sold high on their top safety, as Adams's numbers suddenly tanked at the turn of the decade, and still no one has any clue as to why. Not even injuries can explain going from roughly eight sacks per season to zero sacks per season, and 85 tackles per season to 50 a season. But whatever the case, after the Seahawks' released Jamal Adams just a few weeks ago, his days in the NFL are likely over. So Jamal Adams was definitely a hit for the Jets and a complete miss for the Seahawks.
No. 7 Overall pick: Mike Williams, Wide Receiver
After being drafted seventh overall, Mike Williams was a bit of a late bloomer, not getting significant yardage until his third season. But once Williams got his play off the runway, defenses had a difficult time stopping him, recording 1,000+ yard seasons in both 2019 and 2021.
I was genuinely surprised when the Chargers released Mike Williams about a month ago because if it hadn't been for that ACL tear, he would still be on the team, and the Chargers would have finished with a better record in 2023. Though the Jets did pick him up not long after, and Williams should be a helpful addition to their offense.
No. 8 Overall Pick: Christian McCaffrey, Running Back
Christian McCaffrey is easily the most successful of the nine players on this list, but he didn't exactly hit the ground running (No pun intended) to start his career. After a mediocre rookie campaign, McCaffrey recorded mind-boggling statistics that the NFL hadn't seen in decades, and defenses simply had no answer for his electrifying dual-threat style of play. In 2019, McCaffrey became the third player in NFL history to record 1,000 rushing yards and 1,000 receiving yards in a single season, and in just this past season, 58.9% of fantasy league winners had Run CMC on their roster.
However, Christian McCafrey's dual-threat playstyle also made him prone to injury, derailing multiple Panthers' seasons as a result. But the 49ers probably have better conditioners, because McCafrey has gotten even more carries with the 49ers, but endured no major injuries during his time in San Francisco.
Despite most running backs retiring by the age of 30 nowadays, McCafrey is 29 and shows no signs of slowing down. And he's the only one of the nine players drafted before Patrick Mahomes who's faced Mahomes in a Super Bowl.
No. 9 Overall Pick: John Ross
When you think of the biggest draft busts in NFL history, John Ross probably doesn't come to mind, but the Bengals' wideout out of Washington definitely deserves to be mentioned with guys like Johnny Manziel or Ryan Leaf. After breaking the 40-yard dash record at the combine, Ross's draft stock probably rose a bit higher than it should have, and that became apparent once his NFL career actually started. And at the time at least, the Bengals organization wasn't very effective in developing young players.
After missing most of his rookie season due to injury, Ross played most of 2018 and recorded just 210 receiving yards and an atrocious 36.2% catch percentage. Ross's stats didn't get much better in the following seasons, and he was the first of these nine players to retire, retiring ahead of the 2023 season. To add insult to injury, seven months after John Ross called it quits, Xavier Woods broke Ross's 40-yard dash record.
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