Patrick Mahomes Was Almost Drafted by Cardinals

Patrick Mahomes, one of the best quarterbacks in the game, was almost a Cardinal according to Bruce Arians.

The Arizona Cardinals already have their franchise quarterback in Kyler Murray, but former head coach Bruce Arians believes the team nearly had a different fate in the 2017 NFL Draft. 

On a recent appearance on Barstool's "Pardon My Take", Arians reveals he thought for sure Patrick Mahomes would end up in the desert. 

"I thought for sure when we were in Arizona, we were getting Patrick Mahomes," said Arians.

Patrick Mahomes was ALMOST a Cardinal instead of a Chief, according to @BruceArians.

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— Pardon My Take (@PardonMyTake) August 31, 2022

"As that draft was falling, I was like, 'he's ours'. Either him or Deshaun (Watson). But Pat, he's right there. Kansas City doesn't need a quarterback. They take him, we're saying 'what?', they got Alex Smith, [who[ just went to the Pro Bowl. We thought he would [fall] and we loved him."

The Chiefs jumped from pick No. 27 to 10 in order to take Mahomes, just four spots ahead of where the Cardinals were sitting at No. 13. The Houston Texans would then jump from No. 25 to No. 12 and take Watson. 

Arizona would take Haason Reddick.

"I went to Lubbock and worked him out personally. And skill-wise he's off the chart, but mentally he was right there with Peyton [Manning', Andrew [Luck] and Tom [Brady]. I mean he's sharp. Just really sharp.

"There was a lot of knocks on the offense he was coming out of and things like that, just the four teams in front of us, no one needed a quarterback." 

Or so Arians believed. 

Many would argue Arizona's current trajectory would be much different under the guiding hand of Mahomes, although others would tell you he fell into a perfect situation with Kansas City. 

The Cardinals will welcome Mahomes and the rest of the Chiefs at State Farm Stadium for Week 1 of the regular season on Sept. 11.