A year ago, the No. 1 overall pick, Myles Garrett, stayed in his hometown of Arlington, Texas, rather than attend the NFL draft in Philadelphia. This year the draft is in Arlington, and one of the draft’s top prospects won’t be attending.
Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield was in Fort Worth on Monday night to pick up the Davey O’Brien Award, and during a round of interviews, the Heisman Trophy winner told Newy Scruggs of DFW’s NBC5 that his draft-day plans do not include AT&T Stadium.
Mayfield would have served as the headliner of draft week.
It is not unprecedented for a top quarterback prospect to stay home for the draft, though most usually attend. The top quarterbacks in 2015, Jameis Winston and Marcus Mariota, chose not to attend. Winston went first overall, and Mariota was the second choice.