INDIANAPOLIS — They don’t draft quarterbacks based on cockiness. If they did, Baker Mayfield would be the top selection, hands down.
Just don’t ask Mayfield if he is cocky. He prefers to call it confidence.
You decide.
Here is how the record-setting Oklahoma quarterback started his meeting with the national media Friday at the NFL Scouting Combine when he was asked how he would feel if he were the No. 1 overall pick by the Cleveland Browns.
“I think if anybody is going to turn that franchise around, it’d be me,” Mayfield said. “And be able to put it in the right direction.”
Why does he think he is the right option for the Browns, more so than the players such as Sam Darnold, Josh Rosen and Josh Allen, who are expected to go before him?
“Accuracy. I can make any throw. Winning is most important, the way I get guys around me to play, not just the offensive players around me, the defensive guys, special teams. The energy I bring, the passion I bring, is infectious. Ask anybody on that Oklahoma staff.”
About that accuracy, in which Mayfield completed 70.7 percent of passes (539 of 762) for 8,592 yards and 83 touchdowns his past two seasons at Oklahoma?
“I’m the most accurate quarterback in this draft, by far.”
And then this…
“Whatever team I go to, I’m not going to settle for a backup job,” Mayfield said.
It was all on display when he stood in front of a horde of media and said why he thinks he is the best of what is considered one of the strongest quarterback crops in years.
Cocky or confident?
“I don’t think I’m cocky, it’s just confident,” Mayfield said. “I’m not going to go in there and act like I got it figured out.”
Even if it sounds as though he will.
Mayfield is not deterred by his size (6 feet 0⅝, 215 pounds), which is the smallest of any of the top quarterbacks in the draft (he also has the smallest hand size at 9¼). He said he would bet he has had fewer passes batted at the line of scrimmage than any of the quarterbacks at the combine.
And he wants to prove it at the next level, starting at the combine Saturday when he will throw with the other quarterbacks (except Darnold).
“It’s showing that I’m ready to be a franchise guy, I’m ready to help anyone out,” Mayfield said. “I just want to play the game, to just get a chance, that’s all I ever asked for. I’m going to make the most of it once I get there.”
Darnold, who is projected to be the No. 1 overall pick in the draft, has a whole lot less to prove at the combine, which is one of the reasons he will not throw Saturday. In fact, about the only question facing Darnold is his penchant for turnovers, particularly fumbles. Darnold had 22 interceptions and 21 fumbles in 27 games at Southern California.
“The No. 1 priority for a quarterback is to protect the football,” Darnold said. “I’m aware of that, I’m aware of how much I turn the ball over, and it’s not OK. I’ve been addressing that this offseason and I’ve been working on keeping two hands on it in the pocket. The only time I let go of the ball is to throw it.”
Like Mayfield, he was asked how he would feel if he had the chance to play for the Browns. His answer was slightly less cocky.
“Turning around a franchise is a hard thing to do, but I think I’m up to the challenge,” Darnold said. “I think I want to prove to people I’m capable of leading a franchise, but it doesn’t necessarily have to be the No. 1 team [in the draft] to select me. It can be any team.”
Gerry Dulac: gdulac@post-gazette.com.
First Published: March 2, 2018, 10:02 p.m.
