Baltimore Ravens: Could Team Take Baker Mayfield in NFL Draft?

In a recent mock draft for NFL.com, analyst Daniel Jeremiah has the Baltimore Ravens selecting Oklahoma QB Baker Mayfield in the first round.

In a recent mock draft for NFL.com, analyst Daniel Jeremiah – who is a former scout for the Baltimore Ravens – has the team selecting Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield with their 16th-overall pick in the NFL Draft.

“The Ravens should be in rebuild mode and that starts with a new signal-caller,” Jeremiah writes. “Mayfield can sit behind Joe Flacco until he’s ready to take over.”

But would the Baltimore Ravens actually select Mayfield with their first-round pick? It doesn’t seem likely, especially considering the fact that owner Steve Bisciotti said that the team has “bigger fish to fry” when asked about who might be quarterback after Flacco’s done.

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It wouldn’t be totally crazy though. Flacco isn’t getting any younger, and his skill set is pretty obviously declining. The Baltimore Ravens can start thinking about life after Flacco in 2019 as he has an opt-out after that season in his contract.

Mayfield certainly appears to be a unique talent at the quarterback position, having won the Heisman trophy with stats from college that are just gaudy. Mayfield has thrown for 83 touchdowns and 14 interceptions over the past two seasons while completing 70% of his passes.

During his time at Oklahoma, Mayfield has shown to be a very intelligent, skilled passer. He doesn’t have the strongest arm in the world, but it’s good enough. Where Mayfield excels is in his timing and accuracy, he’s exceptionally good at leading wide receivers and putting them in a good position to get yardage.

He’s also good on his feet. In 2017, Mayfield threw for 43 touchdowns but also rushed for five, and has shown to have a very good ability at dodging sacks.

I’m not saying the Baltimore Ravens are going to draft Mayfield, in fact I don’t think that’s likely at all. But I don’t think it’d be the craziest thing in the world, in fact, I think it’d be fairly smart.

The team needs to think about life after Flacco, and they need to start thinking about it soon. Sure, you could pass that decision off until next year or the year after, but you also have no idea what the quarterback class is going to look like after this year.

What you do know, if you’re in the Ravens’ front office, is that Baker Mayfield is out there and he looks to have a lot of potential. If you draft him this year, he gets to have at least a year of sitting on the bench behind Flacco before he has to go out there.

That being said, it’s also very understandable if the Ravens elect not to draft a quarterback. The team has missed the playoffs for three-straight seasons now, and there’s no doubt that coach John Harbaugh is in the hot seat.

It would make a lot of sense if the team felt that they urgently needed to make their team significantly better immediately without the luxury of being able to take the long-view of making a move like drafting Mayfield.

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It’s certainly not a likely scenario that Mayfield ends up a Raven, but it’s certainly an interesting thought, and it wouldn’t be insane.