He has planted flags, had verbal run-ins with opposing fans and now produced obscene gestures. Is Baker Mayfield still the Heisman Trophy front-runner?
Some may call him fiery, competitive and a gamer, etc, but there is no excuse to grab your genitals and make obscene gestures towards the home bench and verbally jab with fans of a non-football school such as Kansas.
Actions like that are forever digitally attached to you in this age of information and social media, and if he thinks that the New York, East Coast-based Heisman Trophy Club will not forget this, imagine how NFL player personnel, owners and general managers will think if they were to draft you.
While he may be the proverbial frontrunner for the 2017 Heisman Trophy, thanks to passing for 3,816 yards, 34 touchdowns and only five interceptions, but acting out over a handshake snub at midfield and doing what Mayfield did during a game is—in his own words, unacceptable—and will be the last image owners, fans and prospective teams will have of you, regardless if he manages to claim Oklahoma’s sixth Heisman, the first one since Sam Bradford back in 2008.
NFL draft stock wise, at barely six feet, (6’1, 220), some teams may feel that he is too small to be their quarterback. Despite the success of six-feet Super Bowl winning-QB’s such as Drew Brees and Russell Wilson, the last thing Mayfield needed to do was give prospective teams reason to NOT draft him.
While some—and I’m saying some—draft boards and blogs have him going as high as No.1 to the Cleveland Browns, or as low as the fourth round, Mayfield is also behind the proverbial eight-ball in playing in a conference know for producing more busts than Michelangelo at the QB position such as Robert Griffin III, Brandon Weeden, Josh Freeman, etc.
Some have likened his moxie, deep vertical ball and fire to a young Brett Favre, with a touch of Steve Young accuracy. Unfortunately, he also channeled his inner Johnny Manziel in acting out in such a immature fashion.
Some may now label him as Baker Manziel or Johnny Manziel 2.0, and that’s really tragic considering that Mayfield has a better arm and more of a developed and polished prospect than Manziel ever was at Texas A&M.
For the record, I actually LIKE Mayfield, and could see him as a good fit here in Cleveland, but considering the Browns recent debacle with Manziel, and his actions in Lawrence, Cleveland may pass on him.
Hopefully, Mayfield is truly sorry for his actions and can display the talent and character worth of both the Heisman and a projected first-rounder, because like all Greek tragedies, Mayfield’s time could be over before it ever had a chance to begin.