Mayfield: Does “Meh” Senior Bowl Affect Our Interest?

Jimmy Bourbon

6 years ago

Mayfield looks to be a boom or bust pick... can Miami afford not to pull the trigger

Mayfield looks to be a boom or bust pick… but can Miami afford not to pull the trigger

Could Mayfield be Miami’s chance at Drew Brees 2.0?

Free Agency doesn’t begin until March 14th, and the NFL Draft isn’t until April 26th

…so, for now, Phins talk is all about rumors, spit balling, speculation, and reflection.

The most recent rumor started with Baker Mayfield’s Instagram post. He apparently wanted Wide Receiver Kenny Stills to get him to Miami.

baker_mayfield #GetMeToMiami

Will he even fall to #11? Would Miami pick him if he did? Could they trade up to get him?

Whether or not Mayfield wants to come to South Florida won’t affect any of questions.

The primary question: Would Mayfield be the right pick?

Mayfield is the reigning Heisman trophy winner, so there’s that. Of course, plenty of NFL QB flops have won the Heisman. So while getting the trophy is in no way a bad thing, it would have been a lot nicer to see him nail his Senior Bowl performance …and he didn’t.

Now, let’s be real, however the performance turned out, it’s wouldn’t have been the end all be all. There’s no definitive correlation between NFL success and Senior Bowl success

…but given his question marks, it sure would have been reassuring to see him do well.

I have to admit, I’m very intrigued by the possibilities of Mayfield wearing aqua… if he somehow falls into the Dolphins lap at #11.

Although he lacks the “prototypical” size for a QB in the NFL, his arm, competitive spirit, and leadership are indicators of a franchise QB’s. But, there’s a lot more to succeeding in the NFL than just those qualities… ask Tim Tebow.

Both Strengths and Weaknesses Displayed in Senior Bowl

Now, Mayfield is light years more accurate than Tebow, but he does have strong flaws. Some of those showed in the senior bowl, while little of his strengths were on display. It was only 5 passes in total, so again, let’s not get crazy over it. But let’s not totally ignore it either. More to the point, why didn’t he ask back into the game, like Josh Allen did, after his slow start?

What he did well: mobility and accuracy on his first read.

https://phinsnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/mayfield-2.mp4?_=1

…and what he didn’t do quite so well:

https://phinsnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/mayfield-1.mp4?_=2

Mayfield is in the mix of around 5 top level QB’s that most NFL Draft “gurus” predict could be the strongest 1st round QB class since the legendary Elway to Marino class of 1983. If there happens to be an early run on QB’s, which is what many pay per head software providers like www.AcePerHead.com, are predicting, Mayfield may never make it to #11… and I don’t think Miami should sell the future reaching for him.

Will the Dolphins really take the “Best Player Available” at #1

Miami recently said that if a QB happens to be the best player on their draft board, and he’s still available when they select in the first round, they would not be shy about taking a shot on him. Sure, Miami has a ton of needs that have to be filled. And of course, everyone and his brother says they need to make a blue chip day one starter selection with their first round pick. The best pay per head reviews. However, what if we can land a QB that can finally fill the void of Dan Marino? One that can bring this franchise out of the doldrums of eternal mediocrity? It’s hard to argue against making that selection.

I am not saying that Mayfield is going to be the next Marino, or Brees, or the next anything. What I am saying is that, at the very least it, would give us a young backup that has a higher potential ceiling than any of our other options at QB, including Ryan Tannehill… that is if Mayfield ends up being as good as billed.