NEW ORLEANS -- Saints Coach Sean Payton seriously considered drafting Patrick Mahomes in 2017.
New Orleans was slated to pick 11th overall, but Kansas City traded up to snag Mahomes at pick No. 10.
Record-setting quarterback Drew Brees was 38 years old then, but he had no intention of retiring. And as it turned out, the Saints wound up with one of the greatest drafts in franchise history that year anyway.
It began with the 2017 Defensive Rookie of the Year, cornerback Marshon Lattimore, who'll get his first chance to see how he fares against Mahomes and Co. today when the Saints (10-3) host the defending NFL champion Chiefs (12-1) in a potential Super Bowl preview.
"Everything worked out for the best," Lattimore said. "He's over there doing his thing. I'm over here doing my thing. So, everybody won.
"And yeah, I'm excited to play him because he's one of the great up-and-coming quarterbacks. So you know our game is going to be way up, and you know we're going to be ready for him."
With help from playmakers such as receiver Tyreek Hill and tight end Travis Kelce, Mahomes leads the NFL in yards passing with 4,208 and has his team in pole position to defend its Super Bowl title.
"To be that young and to be as talented as he is is rare," Chiefs Coach Andy Reid said of Mahomes. "For him to have excelled the way he has is a real tribute to the kid and the genes that his parents gave him, too, is part of it -- and how hard he works."
The Chiefs have the best record in the AFC, but ensuring it stays that way another week requires a victory against a contending Saints squad looking to bounce back from a stunning loss in Philadelphia. The Saints can win the NFC South for a fourth consecutive season with a victory (or a Tampa Bay loss).
"It's going to be a great battle," Lattimore said. "I feel like we're stacked, just like they're stacked. So, we're going to go out there and play and the best man wins."
The Saints added intrigue to their quarterback situation this week by designating Brees eligible to return from injured reserve. Brees had missed four games since a sack against San Francisco left him with multiple rib fractures and a punctured lung.
Taysom Hill has started in Brees' place, going 3-1. Payton said Friday that Brees is expected to start, but indicated that Hill could take a number of snaps under center as well. Even before Brees' injury, the Saints subbed in Hill as a change-of-pace, read-option QB.
"We have a number of personnel groupings to give us some flexibility and we'll go from there," Payton said.
The Chiefs have been forced to prepare for both QBs.
"No question they're different," said Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo, who in 2012 held the same position in New Orleans. "You're talking about a future Hall of Famer [in Brees] and a guy [in Hill] that's playing really good football that gives us the added threat of running the ball.
"We need to defend the scheme. They do really well with whoever they put back there. There's a lot of other weapons there besides the guy that gets the ball on the snap."
