Baker Mayfield Will Be Most Polarizing of 2018 NFL Draft
By Erik Lambert
Every year there is one player who divides the NFL draft community. Some love him. Others don’t. For 2018 it’s clear Baker Mayfield will be that guy.
In many ways the Oklahoma quarterback is another Johnny Manziel. He’s a household name to college football fans and renowned for his highlight reel plays and substantial productivity. At the same time there are plenty of red flags. He’s undersized, doesn’t boast the strongest arm, and plays more of a backyard style of the game than a true polished version for the NFL. He has moments of absolute brilliance and moments that are cringeworthy.
Some might call him a risk-reward proposition. That being high risk but also high reward. It will depend heavily on the type of system he lands in, the coach he falls under and the work ethic he has. Mayfield is undoubtedly a gamer with talent but he’s also a bit unpredictable. The passion he shows on the field goes both ways, towards the beneficial and hurtful.
Mayfield must land in the right situation to have a chance
Mayfield is not nearly as self-destructive as Manziel clearly was coming out of Texas A&M. At the same time their similarities are hard to ignore. They’re at their best when able to create on the fly, using their athleticism and natural instinct. Mayfield is a better pocket passer which should help his case but also has bad footwork and no arm like Brett Favre to compensate for it.
Then again such issues can be fixed and it doesn’t take a rocket arm to succeed in pro football. Joe Montana didn’t have ideal feet or a strong arm either. The point being that Mayfield has just enough in his tool kit to make a team believe he has the capability of becoming at least a quality starter and maybe a franchise guy with a few breaks.
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Throwing for over 10,000 passing yards in a career at Oklahoma is not something that can be summarily dismissed. He owns high-profile victories over teams like Ohio State and TCU. Has has 102 touchdown passes and just 19 interceptions. When do people stop looking at what’s wrong and starting looking at what’s right?