There is an alternate reality where the Cleveland Browns have the best quarterback in the world.

And that reality almost happened – if not for individuals in the Browns front office overthinking the 2017 NFL Draft, like usual.

During that draft, the Browns possessed the No. 1 overall pick, which the team used to draft Myles Garrett. But the Browns also had the No. 12 pick from the Philadelphia Eagles, and there were talks of Cleveland moving up in the draft order to select Texas Tech quarterback Patrick Mahomes, if not for some within the organization.

“Coach Hue Jackson told friends he loved Mahomes and [Deshaun] Watson, but Mahomes a bit more. But this rumor turned out to be more smoke than fire,” NBC Sports’ Peter King wrote. “Some Browns’ officials reportedly were turned off by his mechanics, and I don’t think they were ever close to pulling the trigger to move up for him.”

Hindsight is always 20/20. And those front office executives would have eliminated any questions surrounding Mahomes’ mechanics if they knew he would deliver three Super Bowls to the often maligned Browns.

However, there is no guarantee that Mahomes becomes Mahomes if he is playing in Cleveland instead of Kansas City.

With the dysfunction of Cleveland before Kevin Stefanski and Andrew Berry offered some stability, Mahomes would have needed to start immediately. He didn’t have the same pressure in Kansas City.

Also, Mahomes wouldn’t have Andy Reid to draw up the plays.

Dysfunctional organizations have ruined good quarterbacks before. Cleveland could have been another case of that. Still, the Browns were never given a chance.

Instead, those making draft-day decisions over thought issues that could have been fixed and Cleveland missed out on the greatest quarterback of the generation.

Yes, the Browns ended up with Deshaun Watson eventually. Cleveland had to trade its future and give Watson a record-breaking contract to get that done.

Before Watson, the Browns overdrafted Baker Mayfield to land a competent starting quarterback. It was a move that paid off. Mayfield won a playoff game for Cleveland – something that hadn’t been done since 1994.

Still, the Browns could have had Mahomes – the guy that manages to pull wins out of instances that are near losses.

So, take a second, allow the dream to come over you, and imagine a world where the Browns, not the Chiefs, have Mahomes calling the shots.

It’s not a half-bad dream – is it?