Gentlemen, I Think Its Time...Consider Baker Mayfield At #1

[LETSGOBROWNIES]

40 minutes ago, bosko1616 said:

Mason Rudolph ? 

I’ll take “Who blows for $500 Alex”

[Thomas5737]

49 minutes ago, LETSGOBROWNIES said:

I’ll take “Who blows for $500 Alex”

Seems steep, he must be good.

[roger murdock]

Baker Mayfield is a prospect I wish I liked less. He's a 'trap' prospect in my opinion, the kind of guy the casual fans love but never translate to the NFL.

But when I watch him play, he seems different. He HAS the NFL caliber arm. He has the NFL instincts and pocket presence. He has the leadership and attitude to succeed. I love everything about this kid physically and love how hes consistently produced and shined and overcome adversity.

 

The only real question marks for me is the system and ability to adapt to pro style reads. I like him far more the more I watch him. Usually these types of guys games I rip apart, but I think hes special.

 

[LETSGOBROWNIES]

24 minutes ago, Thomas5737 said:

Seems steep, he must be good.

Hey man, I got Christmas money to spend.

[Mind Character]

 

Rewatching his snaps really illustrated how he accumulates yards/nice stats...in the first half he had 200 yards passing on pass for easy math 400 yards; however, if you watch how he came by those 200 yards, the throws were mostly underneath routes or screens/ quick outs that were catch and runs.

Who's watching that and seeing a top 5 QB?

Not I.

Great college QB. Shouldn't be defined based on 1 game, but that one game is a lot like others albeit he maintains the inflated yards ending with big statistical games of 480 yards or so.

[NudeTayne]

5 hours ago, LETSGOBROWNIES said:

I’ll take “Who blows for $500 Alex”

 

4 hours ago, Thomas5737 said:

Seems steep, he must be good.

?

[BleedTheClock]

Mayfield is so interesting...but I wouldn't take him #1. I'd rather take Rosen after his "I don't want to play in Cleveland" comments and just force his hand. I'm hoping Darnold declares, and I suspect he will. If that happens, I'm going Darnold #1. If he doesn't, I think I'd ultimately take Rosen #1. But I'd be ok with trading down 1-3 spots for a King's Ransom and then taking Baker. I just don't know if you can pass on the "sure-fire" prototype QB's to take Baker, who clearly could leave more egg on your face. Baker has the highest ceiling of the QB's in my opinion (hot take), but he's also the riskiest because of the way that scheme benefits him. He gets a lot of easy completions off of play action and soft zones. What I do like about him is that he is capable of throwing those intermediate routes against man with accuracy and zip. I just wish I was him operate from a more prototypical offense. I'm guessing he'll be fine in the NFL and look a lot like Russell Wilson, but I don't feel 100% confident in that.

I do know that I love his attitude (even the arrogance), his arm strength, his mobility, and his leadership. I love his ability to throw to all levels with awesome accuracy and I love how he keeps the ball away from the defense. He manipulates the pocket better than Manziel, who was a wizard at this. He rarely runs himself into trouble for how much he moves around in the pocket. He always keeps his eyes down the field looking for receivers. He doesn't lock on to anyone and actually scans the entire field going through his progressions. He doesn't miss easy throws in the 0-15 yard range. When he misses long, he misses high and outside--away from the defenders. He can throw an up top fade to a big guy or side arm sling it underneath to a slot WR on a bubble or a quick slant. His WR's catch the "easy stuff" in stride and it allows them to pick up every yard available without having to adjust to a bleh toss before rebuilding up their speed.

 

Baker does so many things better than Darnold and Rosen, but Darnold and Rosen are better suited for the pro game based on scheme and measurables. Baker scares me...but I'm enamored with what he could become.

[Aztec Hammer]

This is my take.

There's a cult of personality developing here. And I speak from experience because I was on the side that was fine with us taking Manziel. I actually thought I was fair in that I thought Johnny would be really good or really bad, with no middle ground. But the point stands, I wanted us to draft Manziel.

I got stung on that. I liked a lot of his skills, but if I really took the time to sit back and look at what he does well, what he doesn't do well. And the fact that he's a massive arse. The end result isn't remotely surprising.

I'm seeing the same thing with Baker. The same cult of personality at least. Different skill set, but the same principle applies. As I'm writing this, I'm listening to Danny Kanell, Charlie Weis and Max Kellerman tell me they would take Baker over anyone else because they get him 'fired up' and Rosen doesn't. Weis just said if you like Russell Wilson, 'well that's who Baker is'. Kellerman just compared him to Tim Tebow (the ultimate cult of personality), and cites that as a reason for wanting to draft him. It's madness.

He's fun to watch. He has a great story. He has what we call a 'Marmite' personality that attracts strong opinions. You either love him or hate him. And if you love him, you're willing to subconsciously manipulate the narrative a bit, not out of ignorance but because you really want to like him.

These are either facts or opinions that I feel can very strongly be proven:

- He's barely 6 foot. There have been very few QBs of that size to be great. There are currently two. One is an extremely special all-time accurate and cerebral passer. The other is a very special athlete.

- He has one of the best surroundings casts in the country, and plays in a weak conference.

- He very rarely encounters anything resembling an NFL pass rush and a pressure-filled pocket. In the most NFL style game of his career, once the Georgia defense put the clamps on the gadget stuff and began to manage the Oklahoma running game, I believe we began to see some of what we will see in the NFL from Baker.

- This means he very rarely has to make anticipatory throws, tight-window throws, throws under duress. He also very rarely has to manipulate a crowded pocket and display pocket movement that you need every Sunday.

- He looks to the sideline on every play and calls plays exclusively with hand signals. Most of these plays have a relatively gimmick nature that lends itself to wide open throws, or huge yards after catch.

- His attitude and maturity is questionable. I'm not sure how this can be argued whichever side you fall on. There is a police video of him running away and being shoulderblocked. He grabbed his junk and swore on the sidelines. He's doing throat slashing gestures in the first half of the biggest game of his life, which they go on to lose. 

- He's 23. There are two guys that are multiple years younger than him, that show more pro traits, have made more pro style throws, or play in a more pro style offense, or who have a clean police record, or who have a better arm.

I don't mean to write this to belittle those who like Mayfield. But this is honestly how I see it. Strip him down. Take his name away. Take the fun narrative away. Focus on the core of what he is as a QB. Is that a top tier NFL QB?

I do not see it, at all.