Baker Mayfield, the brash, confident, Heisman-trophy winning quarterback, is preparing for the NFL Draft next month, and the reviews from NFL organizations on Mayfield have been mixed.

He has courted controversy by fleeing arrest from a misdemeanor charge last February, to grabbing his crotch and yelling at the opposing team’s fans, and even planting the University of Oklahoma’s flag on Ohio State’s midfield logo after a victory.

But he has also produced on the field for the Oklahoma Sooners, capping off his college career by throwing 43 touchdowns and only six interceptions, while finishing with a best-in-the-NCAA quarterback rating of 198.9 in his final season of college football, for which he was awarded the coveted Heisman.

Robert Klemko, a football writer at Sports Illustrated’s MMQB, is doing a series on Mayfield with a new feature every week, joined Eric Goodman and Les Shapiro of Mile High Sports AM 1340 | FM 104.7 to discuss the young quarterback — and his potential fit with the Broncos.

Klemko watched film on Mayfield with Darrell Bevell, a former offensive coordinator with the Vikings and Seahawks, and took notice of some concepts from Mayfield’s game during the film session. “I think you get a real appreciation for Baker’s toughness, his ability to keep his eyes downfield; the communication he has with his teammates is constant on the sideline, and I think in a lot of ways, he’s the most exciting prospect in this draft.”

Mayfield stands barely over six feet tall, but Klemko pointed out that he didn’t have many balls batted down in college, and his height certainly hasn’t prevented him from getting it done on the field.

Klemko addressed the ‘character concerns’ with Mayfield, saying, “I don’t think he’s a problem child; I don’t think many people in the NFL believe he is that.” There have been many comparisons to Johnny Manziel, but Klemko says the big difference between the two is how their college teammates view them. Klemko said, “These Oklahoma players talk about Baker Mayfield like he is a demigod; he’s the pied piper around there, and I think that what these teams are learning here at the combine is just how much leadership he took of that program.” Klemko also referred to how NFL teams have started holding 15-minute interviews of draft candidate’s teammates, because they get so much more out of that type of perspective than they do from the actual interview of the player.

When asked if the Broncos have a realistic shot at drafting Mayfield, Klemko responded, “I think that they are probably taking a hard look at Baker — they are in the market for Baker. I think that John Elway and his personality meshes with Baker Mayfield; he likes a confident quarterback, he likes guys that border on cocky, as long as it’s not a detriment to the people around him.” Klemko noted how each of the draft’s top five quarterback prospects (Mayfield, USC’s Sam Darnold, UCLA’s Josh Rosen, Wyoming’s Josh Allen and Louisville’s Lamar Jackson) are all very different, with each surrounded by question marks about their games. There is no ‘sure-fire’ QB in this year’s draft, like there was when Andrew Luck entered the league in 2012.

Once teams hit free agency and their draft needs are more clear, it will be easier to predict where players will be drafted, however, Klemko mentioned, “I have a hard time seeing Baker fall out of the top 15.” Although there is no clear-cut, top quarterback in this year’s draft, there is a good chance that four quarterbacks will be taken in the first 10-15 picks.

Sorry – this audio content is no longer available., including what he had to say about the other teams who might be a fit for Mayfield, or listen to the podcast below.

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