Baker Mayfield has done his best to try to convince the world he’s not Johnny Manziel. Manziel has agreed.
Both, however, were talking about off the field.
On the field, Mike Mayock said he believes the comparisons between the quarterbacks are fair.
“The world of 6-1 and under quarterbacks is a small world, so just by virtue of that they’re kind of thrown in together,” the NFL Network draft analyst told Cleveland’s 92.3, via Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. “You can certainly look at Baker Mayfield and say he’s an athletic kid; he’s got a really good arm. I think he probably has a little bit stronger arm than Johnny Manziel did, but I think the comparison at least on the surface is valid.’'
Manziel measured just under 6 feet -- 5-11 3/4 -- at the combine in 2014. He became only one of three quarterbacks to measure 6-1 or shorter drafted in the first round in the modern era, joining Michael Vick and Rex Grossman.
Manziel and Mayfield both are from Texas; both won the Heisman; and their games are similar, too.
Mayock likes what he has seen from Mayfield’s tape.
“I watched about four hours, five hours of tape of [Mayfield] about six weeks ago, and I went into it a little bit skeptically, and I came out of it going ‘Wow, he’s a better player than I thought. He’s got a bigger arm than I thought,’” Mayock said. “When he scrambles, he’s typically scrambling to extend the play and throw with his eyes up. He’s got that competitive spirit that you love, and he completed almost 70 percent of his passes.”