Based on all the history, you can’t help but feel as though things will be a little awkward the first time Baker Mayfield steps foot into the Carolina Panthers locker room to meet his new teammates and coaches.
Not only did Mayfield’s Oklahoma Sooners have a bitter rivalry with head coach Matt Rhule’s Baylor Bears during their college days, but there’s also the comments made by Robby Anderson recently—as it wasn’t long ago that the Panthers wideout made it clear he wanted Sam Darnold over Baker.
And now, you can add Panthers offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo to the list of Panthers players and staff who might need to have a private conversation with the team’s newest QB in order to clear things up.
Back in 2018, just a few months after Mayfield was drafted first overall by the Cleveland Browns, The New York Post caught up with McAdoo (who was head coach of the New York Giants at the time) to ask him for his thoughts on the newest quarterback draft class.
McAdoo claimed that he wasn’t overly impressed with the options. “There was no Andrew Luck,” he told The Post, which explains why his Giants opted to take Penn State running back Saquon Barkley second overall.
However, it’s his comments about Mayfield that are especially interesting.
“He’s got an edge to him, I like that. He’s gonna lead, they’re gonna follow him,’’ McAdoo said of Mayfield. “I didn’t see a lot of pro-style football in his college tape. And if you’re short you have to be able to make up for it some way, somehow, and personality doesn’t do that.” I didn’t think he was a great athlete. This guy is kinda like a pocket quarterback that is short and with small hands, that’s what I worry about.’’
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That’s some pretty harsh criticism, but it wasn’t even the worst of it… Not by a long shot.
When asked to rank the quarterbacks of the 2018 draft class, McAdoo had Mayfield ranked sixth…SIXTH! The five players he had ranked ahead of Baker, in order, were Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, Sam Darnold, Josh Rosen and…Mason Rudolph???
You’ve got to hand it to McAdoo. As terrible a head coach as he may have been during his days in the Big Apple, he sure did nail those top two in his rankings. It’s just too bad he opted for a running back, rather than taking Allen or Jackson to replace the aging Eli Manning.
As for McAdoo’s current job with the Panthers, he’ll certainly have his work cut out for him. Carolina has no shortage of talent at the skill positions (with guys like Anderson, D.J. Moore and Christian McCaffrey), but they’re weak at the two most important areas—quarterback and offensive line.
It’ll be interesting to see whether McAdoo goes with his third- or sixth-ranked quarterback from the 2018 draft as his starter for 2022. It has already been reported that Baker won’t just be handed the no. 1 role.
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