Grading The Nine Players Taken Ahead Of Patrick Mahomes In The 2017 NFL Draft

In just six full seasons as the Kansas City Chiefs quarterback, Patrick Mahomes has made it to six straight conference championships and four Super Bowls. Of those four Super Bowl appearances, Mahomes has led the Chiefs to three titles -- most recently during the 2023-2024 season. 

Mahomes has turned into the best player in football, and there's really no debating it. But nine teams passed on him during the 2017 NFL Draft before the Chiefs selected him with the 10th overall pick.

Looking back, all nine of those teams would have picked Mahomes instead of their original pick. So, which players got selected before the Chiefs quarterback in the 2017 NFL Draft? What grades do those players get in that draft? Let's dive in and find out which teams passed on the greatest quarterback of this decade. 

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1. DE Myles Garrett (Cleveland Browns) 

The first overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft was defensive end Myles Garrett. Garrett has turned into a superstar in the NFL, and if it wasn't for Mahomes, he would still likely be the number one pick in a do-over of this draft class. 

Garrett has reached double-digit sacks in six straight seasons, including 46 total sacks from 2021-2023. Those 46 sacks over the last three years are the second-most in the NFL, only behind T.J. Watt's 47 sacks. The Browns pass rusher finished the 2023 season with 14 sacks, four forced fumbles, and 42 tackles (17 tackles for loss) en route to winning his first Defensive Player of the Year award. 

Browns DE Myles Garrett wins the 2023 Defensive Player of the Year.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) February 9, 2024

Garrett is one of the best pass rushers in the league right now, and very few offensive linemen can stop him. He has three first-team All-Pro selections in the past four years, five total Pro Bowl selections, and 88.5 career sacks. 

Grade: A

2. QB Mitch Trubisky (Chicago Bears)

With the second overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft, the Chicago Bears selected quarterback Mitch Trubisky. Trubisky, who started just 13 games over his three years at North Carolina, turned out to be the wrong pick. Chicago also traded up one spot with the San Francisco 49ers to select him.

Trubisky's time with the Bears was somewhat disappointing. His best season did come in 2018, though, where he made his only Pro Bowl appearance and led Chicago to a 12-4 regular season record. The North Carolina product threw for 3,223 yards and 24 touchdowns with 12 interceptions that season. However, the classic double doink in the Wild Card spoiled his potential deep playoff run. He also led the team back to the playoffs in 2020, but it was another Wild Card loss in the Windy City. 

2020 was Trubisky's last season in Chicago before he signed with the Buffalo Bills to back up Josh Allen in 2021 and then signed a short-term deal with the Pittsburgh Steelers for the 2022 and 2023 seasons. The former number two overall pick is now a free agent after Pittsburgh released him this offseason. 

Grade: D

3. DT Solomon Thomas (San Francisco 49ers)

The 49ers traded back one spot with the Bears and selected defensive lineman Solomon Thomas out of Stanford. However, this selection was not a great one for a San Francisco team that needed a ton of help in many different areas. 

Thomas didn't contribute a ton in his first couple of seasons with the 49ers, totaling six sacks and 95 tackles (16 tackles for loss). The team declined his fifth-year option, which meant the former Stanford product was headed toward free agency. That's exactly what happened when he signed a one-year deal with the Raiders. He finished with 3.5 sacks and 34 tackles in his only season there in 2021. 

Thomas then signed as a backup with the New York Jets and has played with them for the past two seasons. He totaled a career-high five sacks in 2023, but the former third-overall pick will likely be more of a backup over the remaining years of his career.

Grade: D

4. RB Leonard Fournette (Jacksonville Jaguars)

The Jacksonville Jaguars selected running back Leonard Fournette with the fourth overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft. Fournette had some strong years with the Jaguars and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers over his career. But in a re-do of this draft class, the former LSU alum likely drops out of the top 15. 

In his first three seasons in Jacksonville, Fournette was a workhorse back, totaling over 1,000 rush yards twice. He also caught 76 passes through the air in 2019, which was his last season with the team. He then joined the Buccaneers for three seasons and helped them win a Super Bowl in 2020. That Super Bowl run coined him the name 'Playoff Lenny' when he totaled 448 scrimmage yards in four games. 

But Fournette is now toward the last leg of his career. He played only two games with the Bills in 2023 before they released him in the playoffs. With 4,518 rush yards and 34 rush touchdowns, the veteran back showed plenty of great stuff over his six years in Jacksonville and Tampa Bay. 

Grade: C

5. WR Corey Davis (Tennessee Titans)

The Tennessee Titans selected Corey Davis with the fifth overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft. Davis was widely regarded as the top wide receiver prospect in this draft class and was the first one selected. However, Davis' career didn't exactly pan out. 

Davis has never had a 1,000-yard season, and his best year came in 2020 when the wideout totaled 65 catches for 984 yards and five touchdowns. That was his final year in Tennessee before the New York Jets signed him to a three-year deal. But he didn't do much in New York -- totaling just 1,028 yards and six touchdowns combined in 2022 and 2023. He then retired before the 2023 season after just six years.

The former fifth overall pick might return to the NFL at some point, though he has struggled to contribute and stay healthy over his career. Davis was a bust in the 2017 NFL Draft. 

Grade: D

6. S Jamal Adams (New York Jets)

The New York Jets selected safety Jamal Adams with the sixth overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft. Adams was a home run selection for the Jets early in his career. In his first three years in New York, he was selected to two Pro Bowls and one All-Pro first-team in 2019.

John Fox thought the Bears were taking Jamal Adams instead of Mitchell Trubisky.. 👀

FULL EPISODE ⬇️https://t.co/kxuJSwvOaN pic.twitter.com/Es7memKoTA

— BFR Podcast (@bfr_pod) February 13, 2024

Adams was then traded to the Seattle Seahawks in 2020 and made another Pro Bowl that season after totaling 83 tackles, 9.5 sacks, two forced fumbles, one interception, and one touchdown. The former LSU product has dealt with a bunch of injuries over the past two seasons, which has resulted in the safety playing just 10 games combined.

But he was one of the best safeties in the game when healthy early in his career. Adams has totaled 494 tackles, 21.5 sacks, seven forced fumbles, and 36 passes deflected over those seven years. 

Grade: B

7. WR Mike Williams (Los Angeles Chargers)

The Los Angeles Chargers selected wide receiver Mike Williams with the seventh overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft. While Davis was the top wideout prospect in the class, Williams had the higher upside and potential -- given his 6-foot-4 frame.

Injuries have really hurt Williams' potential in the NFL. But when healthy, he has delivered for the Chargers offense. He has two 1,000-yard seasons over his seven-year career, including a 76-catch, 1,146-yard, and nine-touchdown campaign in 2021. The wideout has always been a big deep-threat option and once led the NFL with 20.4 yards per reception back in 2019. 

With a big cap hit incoming for the 2024 season, there's a chance Williams could get cut. However, if he doesn't, being tied to quarterback Justin Herbert is huge for his potential as he enters the latter part of his career. 

Grade: C

8. RB Christian McCaffrey (Carolina Panthers)

The Carolina Panthers selected Christian McCaffrey with the eighth overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft. Looking back at this pick, this was a great one for the Panthers, as McCaffrey immediately made an impact in Carolina. He totaled 1,965 scrimmage yards and 13 touchdowns in his second year in 2018, and then 2,392 scrimmage yards and 19 touchdowns in 2019. 

McCaffrey dealt with some injuries in 2020 and 2021, but he has stayed relatively healthy since then. He was traded to the 49ers during the 2022 season, and the running back has put up impressive numbers in San Francisco. In just 27 games, the former Stanford product has 2,205 rush yards, 32 rush touchdowns, 119 catches, 1,028 receiving yards, and 11 receiving touchdowns. 

HISTORIC: Christian McCaffrey is the first player ever to have 80+ rushing yards and 80+ receiving yards in a Super Bowl.

(Via ESPN) pic.twitter.com/OgRYmFWsu2

— MLFootball (@_MLFootball) February 14, 2024

McCaffrey is by far the best running back in the NFL right now, so this pick was solid for the Panthers. The former eighth overall pick has been selected to two first-team All-Pros and just won the 2023 Offensive Player of the Year award for the first time in his career. 

Grade: A

9. WR John Ross (Cincinnati Bengals)

The Cincinnati Bengals selected wide receiver John Ross with the ninth overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft, and this might have been the worst selection in the top 10. Ross wasn't projected to be a high draft pick until the NFL combine occurred, and the wideout broke the 40-yard dash record at 4.22 seconds. 

But that speed did not translate to the NFL. In five years, Ross never totaled over 550 receiving yards in a season and only has 957 receiving yards and 11 touchdowns in his career. The wideout has also not played in the league since 2021. 

The NFL surely did not pan out for Ross, and there's likely no revival campaign for the speedy wideout. He was arguably the biggest bust in the 2017 NFL Draft. 

Grade: F

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