While Ben McAdoo was fond of Baker Mayfield's "edge" coming out of college, he didn't seem especially high on how the No. 1 overall pick would fare in the NFL.
"He’s got an edge to him, I like that. He’s gonna lead, they’re gonna follow him," McAdoo told Paul Schwartz of The New York Post in July of 2018, a few months after the Cleveland Browns selected Mayfield No. 1 overall. "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."
Four years later, McAdoo is the offensive coordinator for the Carolina Panthers, who acquired Mayfield to be their starting quarterback Wednesday. In many senses, Matt Rhule's job security -- and by extension, McAdoo's -- rest on the arm of Mayfield. Entering the final year of his rookie contract, Mayfield's future as a starting NFL quarterback very much hangs in the balance as well following an injury-riddled final season in Cleveland.
Ironically, Mayfield will replace Sam Darnold, who was the No. 3 overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft by the New York Giants. At that time, McAdoo did say he thought Darnold had "a lot of magic in his game," but said he would have struggled to use such a high pick a quarterback that he didn't like "the way he throws."
McAdoo's stint as the head coach of the New York Giants ended in disaster, but perhaps outside of Mayfield, his evaluations of the class have turned out to be pretty accurate. Before any of the first-round picks played a game in the NFL, McAdoo said that he believed Josh Allen's "high ceiling" made him the top prospect in the class, followed by No. 32 overall pick Lamar Jackson.
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