Senior Bowl Spotlight: Baker Mayfield a Broncos favorite in the NFL Draft?

The Denver Broncos will coach the North team at the 2018 Reese’s Senior Bowl in Mobile, Alabama, this week, with coaches working out some of the best seniors in college football during practices. This really gives the Broncos a leg up on the competition in the NFL Draft, as they’ll be working through practices and drills with these top prospects.

One of those prospects is Oklahoma Sooners quarterback Baker Mayfield.

Mayfield is seen as a late first- or early-second-round pick at this time. The 2017 Heisman Trophy winner could catapult his draft stock with a big week in Mobile.

Here is a look at Mayfield, the good, the bad and why he could be on the team’s radar.

The good

Working in a system with spread concepts, Mayfield has shown the ability to use his eyes to manipulate defenders. The run-pass options give him open looks, but when coverage is tight, Mayfield can move defenders with his gaze to open up passing lanes.

Mayfield is athletic enough to keep plays alive in the pocket, and he generally does a good job of not overreacting the rush. He’s calm with the chaos swirling around him and defenders coming in to knock his block off. Instead of taking off to run too soon, Mayfield shows a willingness to slide in the pocket to buy his receivers more time to get open.

Some quarterbacks have the “it” factor, and Mayfield seems to be one of those players. A walk-on at two major colleges (Texas Tech and Oklahoma), Mayfield’s path to the NFL is riddled with doubters who said he would never make it. Mayfield has proven doubters wrong and proved supporters right.

Teammates love his infectious attitude, which can be brash at times. Mayfield is incredibly confident in his ability, and he won’t go down without a fight.

The bad

Mayfield has thrown to a lot of wide open players during his college career, but making tight-window throws is something he’ll need to improve upon. To do that, Mayfield is going to have to play with great anticipation as a passer.

Proving he can throw with proper pass placement is big for Mayfield. Hitting receivers in stride or leading them properly can lead to more yards after the catch. Mayfield doesn’t have poor accuracy or pass placement, but that comes from throwing to large windows opened by the run-pass options in the Sooners offense.

Working from under center is something Mayfield has barely done.  During the past two seasons, Mayfield is 23rd in the Football Bowl Subdivision with 762 passing attempts. During that same time, only three of those attempts came from under center.

The footwork when dropping back from under center is much different than from operating in the shotgun. Not only that, but Mayfield will have to get used to play-action fakes where he turns his back to the defense only to turn around and see different coverage all while continuing to drop back and scanning the field for open receivers.

Size is not an issue for me at quarterback, but if Mayfield is 5-foot-11 instead of 6-1 there will be scouts who alter his grade negatively.

Radar watch

The Broncos requested Mayfield be on their team for the week of practice at the Senior Bowl. Senior Bowl executive director Phil Savage said on Monday that the Broncos “wanted to spend some extra time with Baker.”

Mayfield is clearly on the team’s radar, and I’ve heard for more than a month that the Sooners quarterback is their favorite in this draft class.

There is also buzz building here in Alabama that the New Orleans Saints and head coach Sean Payton are fans of Mayfield as well. Could the Saints be a surprise team that takes Mayfield in the later part of the opening round? That could be, and that’s something the Broncos have to consider if they end up targeting Mayfield in the first round of the 2018 NFL draft.

Certainly, the Broncos will be watching him most closely and could be the team that ends up coveting him the most by the end of the week.

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