When the Chiefs decided to jump from No. 27 to No. 10, the simplest explanation for the move was that the Chiefs thought the Browns at No. 12 or the Cardinals at No. 13 would take quarterback Patrick Mahomes. Via Ian Rapoport of NFL Media, the Chiefs moved to No. 10 in order to leapfrog the Saints at No. 11.
Per Rapoport, the Chiefs were convinced the Saints would select Mahomes as the eventual heir to Drew Brees. Apparently, PGA golfer Ryan Palmer (who was in the New Orleans draft room on Thursday) has separately said on radio that the Saints would have taken Mahomes.
It would have been interesting to see how Brees would have reacted to the move, given what he said several weeks ago about the prospect of the Saints taking a quarterback.
“[I]f I’m going to start and that quarterback sits, well that’s not helping our team right now,” Brees said. “So, I want somebody who’s going to help our team right now. That’s the only difference.”
That almost didn’t happen, if Palmer and Rapoport are accurate that the Saints wanted Mahomes. That news, if true, also implies that the Saints didn’t feel the same way about DeShaun Watson, who was available when the Saints put in a card at No. 11.