Let’s be honest here, Browns fans.
If Oklahoma’s Baker Mayfield hadn’t grabbed his cotch on the sidelines during a game last season, if he hadn’t planted his school’s flag at midfield as if he were posing for an Iwo Jima-like college football photo and if he were a legitimate 6-foot-4, then this thing would be over.
C’est finis.
Done.
History.
In the books.
Cast in concrete.
Whatever word or group of words you want to use, the bottom line is that the Browns would know exactly who they would be taking with the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL Draft two months from now. It would be Mayfield. He would have left the other quarterback prospects in the dust. He would be the Browns’ newest – and possibly best – candidate to be their franchise quarterback.
You don’t need to be a rocket scientist to figure this out. You just have to have watched him play. In terms of overall skills, he is just better than the other guys such as USC’s Sam Darnold, UCLA’s Josh Rosen and Wyoming’s Josh Allen.
But he did do the crotch-grabbing and flag-planting, and he’s only about 6-1. So this quarterback derby is still on – very much so, in fact.
Mackey Award-winning tight end Mark Andrews, who was Mayfield’s go-to receiver for the three seasons they played together with the Sooners, had some interesting things to say about the quarterback during the NFL Combine in Indianapolis this week.
Here’s just a tiny bit of what he told staff writer Robert Klemko in a great story on sportsillustrated.com:
*“I’m sure I’m going to get bombarded with Baker Mayfield questions, and I’m excited for that. I’m just going to be honest with them and tell them what I think—and I think the world of him. I know he’s going to be a special quarterback in the NFL.”
*Obviously he’s a really good player, but he’s also very good at understanding the different receivers he’s throwing to and what they’re capable of. Speaking for myself, as a tight end, he did a great job of putting me in spaces where I needed to be.”
*“I think part of Baker is that Houdini quality. But I think one thing he did really well from the pocket was throw that timing route to the outside receiver, that seven-step out. Throwing that on-time and being in the pocket, that’s one of his best throws.”
*“He was always the guy to text everybody to get together and get in work that was not scheduled with the football team. Getting in routes and going over things, etc. And that’s huge. When you haven’t played football in a while you need to go run some routes and catch some balls with your quarterback and stay in rhythm. Having that person who demands everyone be there three or four times a week even when it’s not mandatory, was huge for us.”
*“What he gives you on the field is a lot of what you get off the field. He carries that chip at all time, he lives that way and spreads it through his friends. Just being around him, he’s given me that chip, where you walk around and it’s you against the world and you have to prove something. He doesn’t need much. It could be the smallest thing in the world, but in his head it’s the world ending, the biggest thing ever, and he’s gonna prove you wrong. People who are good at what they do have that drive.”
*“I’ll say this: Baker had one incident with the police. He messed up, he knows it, he was a man about it. I don’t see that happening ever again. It’s a job now, and he’s not going to let anything come between him and this job.”
*He tries to not let people down. If a team drafts him and trusts him, he’s going to do everything in his ability to prove them right. And that’s what I’m going to tell them.”
And finally, here’s the best quote:
*“There’s no other person in this draft who can change a franchise, other than Baker Mayfield. He’s the type of guy who can flip a program. That’s just the type of player he is. He’s passionate. He loves the game. He’s a competitor. There’s no one else in this draft that’s like Baker Mayfield. I believe it’s going to translate incredibly well.”
