The San Francisco 49ers and the Kansas City Chiefs face each other in Super Bowl 54. Heading into that game, there are quite a few questions for each team to answer.

For the 49ers, a big question stares at them in the form of the opposing quarterback. Patrick Mahomes is an absolute star, and the 49ers could have drafted him.

Mahomes was the 10th overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft. That year, the 49ers had the second overall pick.

They ended up trading that pick to the Chicago Bears (who used it to draft Mitchell Trubisky). This meant the 49ers then had the third overall pick. San Francisco took defensive lineman Solomon Thomas.

49ers' head coach Kyle Shanahan was asked why he passed up on Mahomes. According to Cam Inman of Mercury News, the reason is pretty simple.

“I didn’t look into [Mahomes], obviously, as much as I should have,” Shanahan said Tuesday, via Cam Inman of the Mercury News. “We definitely looked into him and studied his tape. He was a freak and could make any throw.”

“We had the second pick and based on the intel, it didn’t seem he would go that high. . . .With the situation we were in, we didn’t want to be that risky, with the second player in the draft.”

So Mahomes just wasn't that high up on the draft board. That makes sense. There were nine picks before him, and obviously a few teams didn't think Mahomes was worthy of a top-10 pick.

Clearly, they were wrong. But Shanahan's reason stands. The number two (or three) pick has insanely high value. You don't want to reach for someone.

Technically, the 49ers can't complain either. Mahomes very well might be the best quarterback in football. However, San Francisco is in the Super Bowl as well. So something went right for them.

Maybe they would be an unstoppable force with Mahomes. But it's hard to argue with the results of their thinking at the moment. That may change in a week, bur right now, the 49ers are one of just two teams still standing.