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In the six NFL seasons since the 2017 NFL Draft, the Chicago Bears have a combined record of 42-56.
They’ve made the playoffs just twice in that span and only once had a record that was above .500.
In that same span, the Kansas City Chiefs and quarterback Patrick Mahomes are 74-24. They’ve made the playoffs every single season. They’ve won 10 games or more in each season, and they’re headed to their third Super Bowl in four seasons after Mahomes masterclass against the Cincinnati Bengals on one leg.
Why is the comparison relevant? Because at least according to one source, Mahomes was nearly drafted by the Bears before the organization pulled the rug out from underneath him.
Patrick Mahomes Sr. Tells Story Of How Chicago Bears Told His Son They Would Draft Him
Mahomes’ father, Patrick Mahomes Jr., was on Chicago sports radio station 670 The Score on Monday evening as a guest of the Parkins & Spiegel show.
Patrick Mahomes Sr. just told us the Bears told his son they'd be drafting him third overall.
They traded up and drafted Mitch Trubisky instead, if you don't remember. https://t.co/t7x173W5CI https://t.co/MC0wNIinfM
— The Parkins & Spiegel Show (@ParkinsSpiegel) January 30, 2023
The elder Mahomes talked about how his son wanted to join the Chicago Bears, and how it almost happened. As the story goes, then Bears general manager Ryan Pace told Mahomes he was going to select him with the No. 3 overall pick.
But instead, Chicago traded up to pick No. 2 and wounder up selected Mitch Trubisky instead. Trubisky is currently on his third NFL team as the backup for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
“We thought he was going to be the third pick overall and go to Chicago,” Mahomes Sr. said in the interview. “He had a great meeting when he went there and liked all the guys that were doing the stuff there and thought he was going to be a Bear.
“Then once they traded up and got Mitch, it kind of hurt him. It really did. He always knew that Kansas City had told him that they were going to come up and get him. They just didn’t know how far they’d have to go. But initially, he thought he was going to be a Chicago Bear.”
There are always “what-ifs” for coaches and GMs across the NFL when it comes to the draft. But that’s got to be one of the biggest of all-time if you’re a Chicago fan.