An Extensive Look Into Senior Bowl Week:: Baker Mayfield

[Patriot Killa]

https://www.google.com/amp/amp.si.com/nfl/2018/01/26/baker-mayfield-draft-senior-bowl-oklahoma

MOBILE, Ala. — Baker Mayfield isn’t here for the games. So when a scout for the Chicago Bears approaches him once more in the lobby of the Renaissance Hotel, where players invited to the Senior Bowl lived and worked this week, the Heisman-trophy winning quarterback musters about 30 seconds worth of patience. Then the truth comes out.

“You know I’ve got to get you for 15 minutes, Baker,” the scout tells him.

“Yeah, we’ll see. I’ve got a bunch more meetings tonight,” Mayfield replies.

It goes on like that, with the scout pressing on and Mayfield apologetically leaning away, reluctant to commit to a 15-minute interview with a scout whose team drafted a quarterback second overall just nine months ago. Then something clicks in Mayfield’s brain, like the latch catching on a closing door.

“You guys just drafted Mitchell Trubisky,” Mayfield says, “so what do you want with me?”

Moments later, Mayfield meets some folks he can’t say no to, stopping for five minutes to sign autographs for a mom and her kids despite their Alabama jerseys. “You just made their year,” she says, hugging him. “Just don't show the old guys out in the parking lot,” he quips.

Baker Mayfield knows what he’s here for, and it’s not so scouts with teams who will never draft him can check off a box and report to their general managers they did the due diligence on arguably the most polarizing player in the draft. He’s not really here to throw either, though he did a tremendous job of it this week. His touch on intermediate passes and balls pinpointed in the corners of end zones set him apart from the competition, including Wyoming quarterback Josh Allen, a potential first-round pick. Mayfield sprinting to and from every drill faster than anybody on the field was the cherry on top.

Still, that’s not the big reason he’s here. Mayfield is here to meet with teams that might actually draft him, and he’s had extensive meetings with four of them; the Saints, Bills, Jets and Dolphins. And they put him through the wringer, teaching him some of their offensive concepts and asking him to recall them an hour later.

“That’s the only upside for me [being here],” Mayfield says of the meetings with teams. “I’m confident I can show exactly what I’m about, how much I care about football and how I’d do anything to win. And not just that. Put me on a board and let me show you how much I know about the game. Let me show that I can pick information up, take it and run with it. Getting in front of these people was so important, even bigger than the three years of film I put together.”

It’s rare to hear 22-year-olds who have poured their lives into college football at the highest level admit that a handful of hour-long meetings with would-be employers is more valuable than the 1,497 passing attempts, 14,607 yards and 131 touchdowns he had over four seasons of college football. But this is Baker Mayfield, the kid who cameras caught grabbing his crotch while taunting opponents (who had taunted him likewise) from the sideline during a win over Kansas. This is the guy who ran to the middle of Ohio State’s field after a 2017 win and symbolically planted an Oklahoma flag on the logo at midfield. He is, as always, a prisoner to the moment.

This week, he had to answer for that last one. On a charter bus ferrying the North team to and from practices at Ladd-Peebles stadium, two Ohio State players surrounded Mayfield in his seat, blocking him in. Defensive linemen Jalyn Holmes and Tyquan Lewis stared down Mayfield, and one of them broke the silence: “What’s wrong with you, bro?”

A pregnant moment passed, then the three burst out laughing. “That’s what you get for kicking my ass the year before!” Mayfield said, referring to the Sooners’ 45-24 loss to the Buckeyes in Norman back in September 2016. The Ohio State pair admitted they probably would have done the same thing had the tables been turned.

Players on both the North and South teams who’d played against Mayfield gushed about his accuracy and his slippery moves in the pocket. During Senior Bowl media day on Tuesday, Auburn safety Tray Matthews recalled a critical play in the 2017 Sugar Bowl when Mayfield got an audible from the sideline, returned to his shotgun posture, looked across at the defense and shouted “I’m bout to get this first down!”

“Then he got the first down,” Matthews says.

“I think it was actually fourth down,” Mayfield says with a laugh.

Mayfield would have been there on Tuesday to answer myriad questions from members of the media, but he was a day late to the festivities. His mother, Gina Mayfield, experienced a heart episode and was taken to an Austin hospital for a battery of tests including an echocardiogram. Since arriving in Mobile Tuesday afternoon, Mayfield has been waiting for results expected to come Friday. He says things are looking good.

In the time he was absent, scouts, agents and reporters whispered about the “real” reasons Mayfield missed the first day. Was he afraid to weigh in and be measured for fear of how he’d stack up with the 6' 5" Allen? Hardly. Mayfield’s not worried about being considered short for a quarterback (6' 0 3/8", by the way)—he readily admits he's never been able to see over linemen. Instead he sees through them.

“I’ve never really been able to see over the guys,” Mayfield says. “I just trust where they’re at and what I see in the defense. Nobody sees over the 6' 8" left tackle. Even Josh Allen, [UCLA’s Josh] Rosen and [USC’s Sam] Darnold can’t see over that guy. You’re seeing concepts, and understanding timing. If you see the guy open, you’re late. You have to anticipate it.”

That’s what Mayfield will tell these teams over the next few months leading up to the draft. He’ll have to answer for that and more when the Broncos work him out individually, general manager John Elway says.

“I’ll ask him about the off-the-field stuff,” Elway says of his biggest question for Mayfield. “Why it needs to happen. I don’t know if there’s a good answer for that. It’s good to have that passion, though. Some guys are more inward, and some are more outward with it. But you’ve got to be cocky to play the position.”

Mayfield, the two-time walk-on who showed up at Oklahoma virtually unannounced and brought the school a Heisman, will handle the questions the only way he knows: with brutal honesty.

“I want to prove the type of person I am,” Mayfield says. “There’s a media portrayal of me and there are the people in the program who know who I am.

“I’m excited for the next few months. I’m gonna give my best because that’s going to put me in the best position moving forward. The stuff I don’t like about the process, I’ll deal with it. I can suck it up for two months. I’ve dealt with worse.”

[bla bla bla]

If you could guarantee me Mayfield at 6 I'd sign up for it right now. I think he's always felt like an underdog similar to how Jets fans feel after being beat down by the Patriots and being the 2nd best team in their own stadium.

I think we'll need to trade up for him if we want him but my gut tells me Macc wants Allen, I hope I'm wrong.

[Lith]

Sounds like we were one of 4 teams to meet with him this week.

 

[Patriot Killa]

26 minutes ago, bla bla bla said:

If you could guarantee me Mayfield at 6 I'd sign up for it right now. I think he's always felt like an underdog similar to how Jets fans feel after being beat down by the Patriots and being the 2nd best team in their own stadium.

I think we'll need to trade up for him if we want him but my gut tells me Macc wants Allen, I hope I'm wrong.

I really think Mayfield’s game translates. If Allen is our pick ...I’m done with Jets football for a long time. 

[Grandy]

31 minutes ago, bla bla bla said:

If you could guarantee me Mayfield at 6 I'd sign up for it right now. I think he's always felt like an underdog similar to how Jets fans feel after being beat down by the Patriots and being the 2nd best team in their own stadium.

I think we'll need to trade up for him if we want him but my gut tells me Macc wants Allen, I hope I'm wrong.

Macc is probably just like all other GM's, he loves his raw skills, but I don't see Macc taking him. Macc is supposedly in love with Rosen though, that's his guy.

[Patriot Killa]

2 minutes ago, Grandy said:

Macc is probably just like all other GM's, he loves his raw skills, but I don't see Macc taking him. Macc is supposedly in love with Rosen though, that's his guy.

I have a feeling Macc learned his lesson with Hackenberg. He’ll go with the surest prospect and not raw potential.

[prime21]

If he's available at 6 and we did not sign Cousins then he has to pick him or trade back.  No excuses.

[JustInFudge]

I’m really starting to lean toward the Jets taking him.  His ego is through the roof and he is either going to be a baller or an epic train wreck like few have rarely been and I’m starting to think I want to be front row for it. 

[Patriot Killa]

1 minute ago, JiF said:

I’m really start to lean toward the Jets taking him.  His ego is through the roof and he is either going to be a baller or an epic train wreck like few have rarely seen and I’m starting to think I want to be front row for it. 

His explanations for most of the “incidents” he’s been involved in seem to be just competitive fire and not immaturity issues. 

When being confronted on the flag in Ohio State

2 hours ago, Patriot Killa said:

That’s what you get for kicking my ass the year before!” Mayfield said

Just sounds like a really fiery guy to me. I love his personality compared to more of these bland and quite guys. Gimme someone who knows he’s good and works to be great. Kid loves football. There’s no question.

[JetFaninMI]

6 minutes ago, Patriot Killa said:

I have a feeling Macc learned his lesson with Hackenberg. He’ll go with the surest prospect and not raw potential.

I hope your right PK. I really do. Mayfields star is rising however and the higher it goes the higher up the draft ladder he climbs. Personally I don't think he gets out of the top 3 and I am starting to feel he will go #1. Can or will Macc go that far for him? I don't think he will. I want this kid on the Jets so much and would trade up to get him. Unless the Jets can somehow get that #1 pick I don't think Mayfield will be a Jet. Just a feeling I have and I hope I'm wrong but I think he goes #1.

[Augustiniak]

13 minutes ago, Grandy said:

Macc is probably just like all other GM's, he loves his raw skills, but I don't see Macc taking him. Macc is supposedly in love with Rosen though, that's his guy.

I've read this week that mccags loves Rosen, mayfield and allen the most.  Maybe he just wants a qb, any qb?

[Grandy]

Overall, Darnold is my favorite prospect. However Mayfield is a close 2nd, and I'd be thrilled to have him be a Jet, he shows all the skills, and tangibles of an Elite player.

[Patriot Killa]

4 minutes ago, JetFaninMI said:

I hope your right PK. I really do. Mayfields star is rising however and the higher it goes the higher up the draft ladder he climbs. Personally I don't think he gets out of the top 3 and I am starting to feel he will go #1. Can or will Macc go that far for him? I don't think he will. I want this kid on the Jets so much and would trade up to get him. Unless the Jets can somehow get that #1 pick I don't think Mayfield will be a Jet. Just a feeling I have and I hope I'm wrong but I think he goes #1.

I feel the same exact way. Word for word. I think he may go #1 with how Josh Rosen has played himself out of that spot .. and if he doesn’t go #1 we need to do everything we possibly can to trade up. I feel like he’s going to be great for a very long time ..sadly I also feel like he’ll either be a Cleveland Brown or a Denver Bronco. The Broncos FO are obsessed with him. I really want him to be a Jet, too though. I started off wanting Rosen more but I think I want Mayfield the most at this point. 

[JetFaninMI]

10 minutes ago, Patriot Killa said:

I feel the same exact way. Word for word. I think he may go #1 with how Josh Rosen has played himself out of that spot .. and if he doesn’t go #1 we need to do everything we possibly can to trade up. I feel like he’s going to be great for a very long time ..sadly I also feel like he’ll either be a Cleveland Brown or a Denver Bronco. The Broncos FO are obsessed with him. I really want him to be a Jet, too though. I started off wanting Rosen more but I think I want Mayfield the most at this point. 

I wholeheartedly agree. The ironic thing is that the Jets may have a chance to get Rosen at 6! I doubt it happens but every year a guy has fallen to the Jets when they have had the #6. How ironic would it be if the Jets had the chance to draft Rosen at #6 AND MACC PASSES or takes a different QB? I could see that scenario happening.

[Philc1]

1 minute ago, JetFaninMI said:

I wholeheartedly agree. The ironic thing is that the Jets may have a chance to get Rosen at 6! I doubt it happens but every year a guy has fallen to the Jets when they have had the #6. How ironic would it be if the Jets had the chance to draft Rosen at #6 AND MACC PASSES or takes a different QB? I could see that scenario happening.

Even Macc isn’t dumb enough to pass on Rosen at 6.  

[Bruce Harper]

I think the Broncos will take him or the Jets or Dolphins will trade up for the Colts pick.  It sure would be nice to have a REALLY high pick one of these days.  I'm getting a sinking feeling that we will draft Josh Allen and start all over in three years.

[Philc1]

26 minutes ago, Augustiniak said:

I've read this week that mccags loves Rosen, mayfield and allen the most.  Maybe he just wants a qb, any qb?

He drafted Petty and Hack, bid against himself to give Fitz $20 million and tried to trade picks for Siemian.  If Macc likes any qb that’s a red flag

[Philc1]

Just now, Bruce Harper said:

I think the Broncos will take him or the Jets or Dolphins will trade up for the Colts pick.  It sure would be nice to have a REALLY high pick one of these days.  I'm getting a sinking feeling that we will draft Josh Allen and start all over in three years.

56% completion percentage facing Cheyenne Community College but look at how fast he throws in practice!

[Patriot Killa]

2 minutes ago, JetFaninMI said:

I wholeheartedly agree. The ironic thing is that the Jets may have a chance to get Rosen at 6! I doubt it happens but every year a guy has fallen to the Jets when they have had the #6. How ironic would it be if the Jets had the chance to draft Rosen at #6 AND MACC PASSES or takes a different QB? I could see that scenario happening.

If Mayfield/Rosen are there when we pick some how, some way and he passes ..i’ll be calling for his head and I actually like Macc. 

My hopes for him is either trade up or get lucky. I say no risks can be taken ..TRADE UP. 

[Bruce Harper]

43 minutes ago, Grandy said:

Macc is probably just like all other GM's, he loves his raw skills, but I don't see Macc taking him. Macc is supposedly in love with Rosen though, that's his guy.

I don't think he is raw, just relatively short, with some off the field issues.

[The Crusher]

45 minutes ago, Grandy said:

Macc is probably just like all other GM's, he loves his raw skills, but I don't see Macc taking him. Macc is supposedly in love with Rosen though, that's his guy.

If he wants to trade the farm for Rosen I would be ok with it. If he does what it takes to get Mayfield I'm good with it. If Macc gets hypnotized by another big prototypical inaccurate QB then he just wrote his own ticket out of town. If for no other reason its proof he is a stubborn idiot and doesn't learn from his mistakes. Allen is way to similar to Hacc for Macc not to see it. If he doesn't then its just proof he is not looking.

[Grandy]

2 minutes ago, Bruce Harper said:

I don't think he is raw, just relatively short, with some off the field issues.

I'm talking of Allen, not Baker.

[JetFaninMI]

9 minutes ago, Philc1 said:

Even Macc isn’t dumb enough to pass on Rosen at 6.  

Sorry couldn't resist:

[Bruce Harper]

6 minutes ago, Grandy said:

I'm talking of Allen, not Baker.

Got it.  My mistake.

[Patriot Killa]

6 minutes ago, The Crusher said:

If he wants to trade the farm for Rosen I would be ok with it. If he does what it takes to get Mayfield I'm good with it. If Macc gets hypnotized by another big prototypical inaccurate QB then he just wrote his own ticket out of town. If for no other reason its proof he is a stubborn idiot and doesn't learn from his mistakes. Allen is way to similar to Hacc for Macc not to see it. If he doesn't then its just proof he is not looking.

Exactly. Just way too big of a similarity. I know they were talking in one of the Senior Bowl practices about the Hack/Allen comparison and you know how the media has this pointless agenda to hype Josh Allen, Mayock “the draft guru” goes on to say Allen is a completely different situation from Hack and his primary argument was “different programs” bunch of BS. They are the same player.

[HessStation]

9 minutes ago, The Crusher said:

If he wants to trade the farm for Rosen I would be ok with it. If he does what it takes to get Mayfield I'm good with it. If Macc gets hypnotized by another big prototypical inaccurate QB then he just wrote his own ticket out of town. If for no other reason its proof he is a stubborn idiot and doesn't learn from his mistakes. Allen is way to similar to Hacc for Macc not to see it. If he doesn't then its just proof he is not looking.

When the Hackenberg pick happened I took a wait and see but also thought he should have been accountable for the strange pick and that his ticket was either on Hackenberg or at least having the team in the right direction by now. I thought he needed one or the other to be showing promise by now. The rope is a string.

[JetFaninMI]

16 minutes ago, Philc1 said:

He drafted Petty and Hack, bid against himself to give Fitz $20 million and tried to trade picks for Siemian.  If Macc likes any qb that’s a red flag

LOL. He did all that yet you think he isn't dumb enough to pass on Rosen at 6? Dude you just gave all the evidence needed for someone to think its possible he would!

[HessStation]

1 hour ago, Patriot Killa said:

Exactly. Just way too big of a similarity. I know they were talking in one of the Senior Bowl practices about the Hack/Allen comparison and you know how the media has this pointless agenda to hype Josh Allen, Mayock “the draft guru” goes on to say Allen is a completely different situation from Hack and his primary argument was “different programs” bunch of BS. They are the same player.

It's very similal if he takes Allen i won't like the pick. But you have to start rallying around pros and hope it pans out. 

[Gastineau Lives]

12 minutes ago, Patriot Killa said:

Exactly. Just way too big of a similarity. I know they were talking in one of the Senior Bowl practices about the Hack/Allen comparison and you know how the media has this pointless agenda to hype Josh Allen, Mayock “the draft guru” goes on to say Allen is a completely different situation from Hack and his primary argument was “different programs” bunch of BS. They are the same player.

I always thought Hackenberg was kind of a statue while Allen seems to be pretty evasive in the pocket, throws on the run and can also break off a twenty yard run. This is my perception.

[jetsons]

1 hour ago, Patriot Killa said:

I have a feeling Macc learned his lesson with Hackenberg. He’ll go with the surest prospect and not raw potential.

One can only hope.

[Savage69]

41 minutes ago, JetFaninMI said:

LOL. He did all that yet you think he isn't dumb enough to pass on Rosen at 6? Dude you just gave all the evidence needed for someone to think its possible he would!

This draft has Mayfield going in the 2nd rd to the Cards and look who the Jets took with the 6th pick..  https://www.drafttek.com/2018-NFL-Mock-Draft-Round1.asp

[jetsons]

4 minutes ago, Savage69 said:

This draft has Mayfield going in the 2nd rd to the Cards and look who the Jets took with the 6th pick..  https://www.drafttek.com/2018-NFL-Mock-Draft-Round1.asp

vomit 

[HessStation]

5 minutes ago, Savage69 said:

This draft has Mayfield going in the 2nd rd to the Cards and look who the Jets took with the 6th pick..  https://www.drafttek.com/2018-NFL-Mock-Draft-Round1.asp

Seems like the this mock was done by my 13 year old daughter.

[Patriot Killa]

42 minutes ago, Gastineau Lives said:

I always thought Hackenberg was kind of a statue while Allen seems to be pretty evasive in the pocket, throws on the run and can also break off a twenty yard run. This is my perception.

I can agree with that. He does have a better feel for pressure. I just can’t use that and arm strength alone to justify the pick.

[FTL Jet Fan]

1 hour ago, Bruce Harper said:

I think the Broncos will take him or the Jets or Dolphins will trade up for the Colts pick.  It sure would be nice to have a REALLY high pick one of these days.  I'm getting a sinking feeling that we will draft Josh Allen and start all over in three years.

I think you're right about the Fins, I wouldn't be suprised to see them make a move for a QB. They are the kind of team that would love to jump in front of us. Hearing a lot of rumors down here about the Fins and Baker, and not just because he said he wanted to play for the Fins.