Baker Mayfield rumors: Broncos has trouble coaching him
The Denver Broncos got a close look at Baker Mayfield during the Senior Bowl, but there were apparently some issues.
For the teams in the top-five of this year’s draft, a decision to take one of the top quarterbacks will be necessary. The Denver Broncos hold the No. 5 pick, which may put them in position to get the third or fourth quarterback off the board if things go a certain way. 2017 Heisman Trophy winner Baker Mayfield could then be an option, but that may not be in the cards.
Mayfield practiced with and played for the North team, led by the Broncos’ coaching staff, at the Senior Bowl. That close proximity to Mayfield provided the opportunity for a good evaluation, at least initially one way or the other. By all indications Mayfield had a good week, despite arriving late due to his mother’s illness and leaving the game early to be with her.
It’s easy to see Mayfield being difficult at the next level, in multiple ways. But the Broncos apparently had trouble coaching him during the week in Mobile.
Would be shocked if #Broncos took Baker Mayfield. Have heard coaching him at Senior Bowl was not a totally smooth process for that staff.
— Andy Benoit (@Andy_Benoit) March 28, 2018
At this stage of the process, any reports and speculation regarding draft prospects have to be taken with a serious grain of salt. Every team has an agenda to manipulate the perception of a player who will be a first-round pick, to assure they can take who they want when they go on the clock.
A team picking after the Broncos may want Mayfield to fall to them, or they want to inspire a team to trade up to get him if the other top quarterbacks are gone once Denver makes their pick. So telling a reporter they had trouble coaching him serves that agenda, assuming the New York Jets didn’t make their move to No. 3 with Mayfield at the top of their list. The Cleveland Browns could also render all of that moot by taking Mayfield first or fourth overall.
Related Story: NFL Mock Draft: March 28
Based on what Paxton Lynch has done thus far, the Broncos can’t be trusted as good evaluators of young quarterbacks. Mayfield is a polarizing prospect and he won’t be a good fit everywhere, but if Denver’s coaches struggled to coach him that’s hardly a red flag.