Jets Rumors: NY 'Never Seriously Considered' Drafting Patrick Mahomes in 2017

New York Jets fans would surely love an alternative timeline where Patrick Mahomes is setting records for their team instead of the Kansas City Chiefs, but that reportedly was never a serious possibility.

According to Brian Costello of the New York Post, former general manager Mike Maccagnan was not particularly interested in selecting Mahomes with the No. 6 overall pick of the 2017 NFL draft and instead wanted to give more time to 2016 second-rounder Christian Hackenberg.

"After speaking to several people who were inside the Jets organization at the time and involved in the draft, it is clear the Jets never seriously considered drafting Mahomes," Costello wrote. "They had worked him out at Texas Tech and even had him to Florham Park for a visit. But Maccagnan was committed to giving Hackenberg a chance to play in 2017 after taking him in the second round the year before."

It should be noted that the Jets were far from the only team to pass on Mahomes.

There were questions at the time about whether a quarterback coming out of pass-happy Texas Tech would translate to the NFL level, and he fell to the Chiefs at No. 10. The Jets also landed an All-Pro player with the No. 6 pick in safety Jamal Adams, although he is no longer on the team after they traded him to the Seattle Seahawks this year.

That decision looks better in hindsight than, for example, the Chicago Bears trading up to No. 2 to take Mitchell Trubisky instead of Mahomes. That decision has set Chicago's offense back a generation and largely prevented it from competing for Super Bowls with a formidable defense already in place.

Unfortunately for the Jets, they have been in a similar spot at quarterback.

Hackenberg never panned out at the professional level, and Sam Darnold is now the franchise signal-caller after they selected him with the No. 3 overall pick of the 2018 draft. While the USC product has flashed his potential at times, he is 11-20 as a starter and has been largely inconsistent.

Mahomes has been anything but inconsistent and already has a league MVP and Super Bowl trophy in his first two seasons as a starter. He appears well on his way to a Hall of Fame career and could have provided stability in New York, Chicago or a number of other places if the draft played out differently.

Yet the Jets apparently never truly considered such a move.