Film Room: Baker Mayfield
Baker Mayfield is one of the most interesting and spoke upon prospects in this upcoming NFL Draft. The former Texas Tech walk on to Oklahoma walk-on quickly rose to the scene as a Sooner and became one of the most decorated QBs in CFB history. After winning the Heisman this season, he has entered the NFL Draft. Where he ranks as a prospect is disputed by many, so let’s look at the film.
Mechanics and Mechanics
Mechanically, we’re talking about one of the best QBs in the draft. Mayfield’s footwork, release, and motions are all amongst the best.
First clip is him throwing on the run, something he seems like a natural at doing. He still manages to use and maximize most if not all of his muscles on this throw. He plants his foot, torques his upper body and throws a dime on the run towards the sideline.
Another clip where his footwork is evident in this one. He keeps his feet chopping, maneuvers in the pocket like he can do so well, and despite the pressure coming completes a full throw.
I want to say he’s mechanically gifted, but I don’t even think that’s fair to him. Mechanics is something done by repetition and hard work and Baker continues to improve his game and get better. These two clips don’t tell the whole tale. He has NFL feet and body control on throws. Throwing on the run, he might be the best QB in the draft. Mayfield completed 67% of his passes on the run as well, which again is a testament to his mechanics.
As far as overall accuracy goes, he’s pretty accurate. On throws towards the sideline, it’s like he’s playing catch with the WR. They’re that precise and easy for him.
First clip right here he nails his Tight End Mark Andrews heading towards the sideline like a hot knife slicing through butter. Simple and easy throw for him. It may not seem like a lot, but there are QBs in the NFL who overthrow sideline routes or don’t give the target enough space to get his feet inbounds.
Next clip is a simple throw, which is a product of the spread scheme he is in, but he still highlights his throw on the run capability.
Some scouts and writers have questions about his accuracy over the middle, but I don’t. A lot of QBs allow the ball to rise too much, and Mayfield has some of those instances, but more often than not they’re still in the WR’s catch radius. The clip above shows that he can hit the wideout in stride no matter where he is on the field.
Next is another throw over the middle, this time heading towards the exact center where the WR only has a step or two on the DB. He fits it right in the window.
The only knocks he as from an accuracy and mechanics perspective are two. He sometimes throws off his back foot, but even then the passes still come out better than most QB’s normal throws. That can be cleaned up by NFL QB coaches. Something I don’t like is that he has a tendency to gun certain throws when he doesn’t need to, and sometimes they do rise on the WR or come in at bad spots where the WR can’t take advantage of the space around him.
However, no QB prospect is perfect
Arm Strength
His arm strength isn’t anything incredible. He’s got NFL arm talent, and not much more than that.
This throw right here shows his arm strength at what it truly is. He’s never gonna be Aaron Rodgers and hit 60 yard throws to the target in stride, but he can make throws 55 yards downfield. He’s not incapable of doing the latter.
Intangibles/IQ
In terms of intangibles and IQ, this is probably my biggest question with him and most peoples, other than his size. Not many quarterbacks have had success going from a “Spread” offense in college to an NFL scheme. The spread maximizes moving at quick speeds and simple throws by exploiting the defense. Will he be able to do a lot of the things he does now with the same effectiveness in an NFL offense against an NFL defense?
As far as progressions go, this is what might scare some teams. Since in the spread, you usually have initial reads, sometimes he overlooks open targets on plays where he should be scanning the field. Above is a great example, where he misses an easy big gain, maybe even a touchdown.
Here’s another one.
Baker also has a tendency to creep up in the pocket. I don’t think he does it on purpose, he just doesn’t fear the pressure. In the NFL however, front sevens are too long and athletic to creep up right in their wheelhouse. He’s gonna get sacked.
These aren’t impossible tasks to fix, however. These are much easier to teach than a QB throwing off his back foot every play. These are the type of things that take reps, discipline, and coaching to fix. I think once Mayfield got into camp and learned the offense during the summer, he’d instantly get better at progressions.
Playmaking Ability -
As far as a playmaker, he’s second to only Lamar Jackson at the QB spot in this draft. He can run in design, he can escape pressure, he can roll out and he can scramble. He keeps plays alive and his team in games. He simply makes plays
First clip I bring to you is him being chased by arguably the best defensive line in CFB last season, Ohio State. Pressure comes from both sides, he tucks the ball for safety, scrambles out and looks downfield to find an open receiver. What does he do? Nails him on the run.
Mayfield also runs with enough speed toward the edge to pick up 5–6 yards when nothing else is there. It may not seem like a lot, but that turns a 2nd or 3rd and long to a possible running down.
Want to run the read option? He wants to too. He isn’t a gifted runner, but to say he’s not a very good one is lazy. He makes good cuts with his feet often and has good speed in space and downfield. Even as a QB, he also has good ball carrier vision. He might be good enough as a runner to where he and Lamar Jackson both get tagged as wideouts in the NFL!
Mayfield isn’t Jackson out the backfield, but he isn’t Manning. He can move and move well. He’s gonna run a 4.75, maybe even a 4.7. He can move.
Wrap Up -
As a prospect, Mayfield isn’t outside the top four. Which means in this draft especially, he shouldn’t be picked outside the first 32 selections. He’s got a size issue, being only 6–1 but honestly, that isn’t that big of a problem for me. For me, the bigger issue is him adjusting to a pro-style offense and how well he can read defenses in those situations. He shows you he can do that and wants to get better at doing it, he should probably be the 2nd QB off the board.
