Sean Payton reveals best NFL Draft quarterback prospect he has ever seen
Sean Payton is one of the best offensive coaches of the last two decades in the NFL. If anyone knows quarterbacks and how to put up big passing stats, it’s him. That’s why his opinion carries extra weight when it comes to evaluating quarterback talent.
And who is the best quarterback prospect he’s seen coming out of college? Payton told NFL Network’s “Good Morning Football” that Patrick Mahomes takes that honor.
"I've said it before and I said it then after we worked him out. He (Patrick Mahomes) is probably the greatest quarterback draft prospect I'd ever seen coming out of college." — Saints coach Sean Payton on @gmfb
— Peter Schrager (@PSchrags) February 3, 2021
You may think it’s easy for Payton to say that now, especially when that type of consensus did not exist in 2017. But Payton has been a huge Mahomes backer even before the QB was a league MVP.
Mitchell Trubisky was taken No. 2 overall by the Bears that year. That’s widely acknowledged now to be a huge mistake. Mahomes went No. 10 to Kansas City after the Chiefs traded up to get him. Deshaun Watson was taken No. 12 by Houston. The Saints took Marshon Lattimore at No. 11.
Do you think Payton regrets not taking Mahomes? Maybe the Chiefs knew they had to beat Payton to the Mahomes pick.