With the 2018 Senior Bowl officially in the books, NFL teams have a better idea of which potential prospects to keep an eye on. Among the notable names leading up to the game has been Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield.
Although Mayfield was one of the most exciting players in college football this season, there has been little reason to believe he will be the first quarterback taken in the 2018 NFL Draft. That is, up until now.
According to Charles Robinson of Yahoo Sports, despite conventional wisdom, the odds of Mayfield selected as the No. 1 overall pick are not far-fetched:
Article Continues Below“A lot of what he is as a player fits with the mentality of [Cleveland Brown’s general manager] John Dorsey,” one source said. “Just his mental makeup as a player, John believes in building around those kinds of guys. … I think he’s a strong candidate [for the top pick] after this week.”
Up until now, most of the hype has surrounded USC quarterback Sam Darnold and Wyoming quarterback Josh Allen. However, it seems Mayfield may have turned some heads in the practices leading up to the Senior Bowl.
Speaking of which, this year's Heisman Trophy winner completed just 3-of-7 passes for nine yards in two series of play. Of course, Mayfield had left early after the first half to comfort his ill mother.
It seems the Browns may have seen just enough to potentially consider taking him with the first overall pick. Mayfield is considered to be an early first-rounder with all the quarterback-hungry teams.
Fortunately, Cleveland has two of the top-five picks in the much anticipated 2018 NFL Draft.