ORLANDO, Fla. — Broadway Baker?
It sounds like it could happen.
There has been heavy buzz here at the NFL league meetings that the Jets love Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield, and he is the one they want with the third pick in next month’s draft. Jets coach Todd Bowles furthered that thought Tuesday with some of his comments during an hour-long session with reporters.
While Bowles put on his best poker face when asked about the college quarterbacks, he dropped some clues that Mayfield may be the guy for the Jets.
Asked what he looks for when evaluating a college quarterback, he said, “Obviously, leadership, accuracy, toughness, intelligence.”
Who does that sound like?
Mayfield completed 70.5 percent of his passes, the highest percentage in the nation, for the Sooners on his way to the Heisman Trophy last season, is universally praised for his leadership skills and is viewed as a very smart quarterback who showed tenacity walking on at both Texas Tech and Oklahoma.
The Jets have done their homework on Mayfield. They met with him at the Senior Bowl, the Scouting Combine and then attended his pro day and had a private workout with him on Saturday in Oklahoma. They also plan to have him visit their Florham Park headquarters along with the other top quarterback prospects.
“You see it on the field,” Bowles said. “There’s not too much you’re going to get out of him at the combine in 15 minutes. You’ve got to ask all type of football questions. We’ll do our due diligence going forward. You see the player and you see the play and you know the guy can play football, and he’s a competitor.”
The word around the league meetings is the Jets love his leadership abilities. They see him as the player who could be their spark plug on offense, a player they can pair with last year’s first-round pick, Jamal Adams, their new leader on defense, for years.
The Jets are well aware that a rookie quarterback will face a different challenge coming to New York than a smaller market. There are people in the organization who saw Mark Sanchez and Geno Smith go through the meat grinder here. Mayfield is ultra confident and seems like he would be unfazed by the noise of New York.
“We’re looking for leadership, obviously confidence,” Bowles said. “It takes a different kind of guy to play in New York.”
When the Jets made the move up from No. 6 to No. 3 earlier this month, some (looking in the mirror) thought Mayfield may not be in the Jets’ plans because of his height. At just under 6-foot-1, he is not the prototypical size of an NFL quarterback and does not fit what general manager Mike Maccagnan has done in the past.
But Bowles said measurables only matter so much.
“They’re important to a degree,” Bowles said. “Winning is more important. You just have to weigh the pluses and the minuses on that. Quarterback measurables are important. Defensive back measurables are important. There’s a height requirement there as well. There’s a height requirement for linebackers and defensive linemen.
“We have a list of things — do’s and don’ts and can’ts and won’ts — that we’ll do regardless of who it is. So, for me, barring a slot receiver, a slot corner or a returner maybe, everybody else damn well else better be above 5-8. So, there’s a requirement for a lot of things that we have. Some you measure the size versus the player. And some are definite no’s. And some you take a chance on.”
But isn’t it tough to play quarterback if you’re short?
“Russell Wilson will argue that,” Bowles said. “As well as Fran Tarkenton. As well as quite a few other guys. So you don’t know. If you can play, you can play.”
There are also some who see Mayfield as a character risk after an arrest last year and then some high-profile incidents on the field, like planting the flag midfield at Ohio State after the Sooners won.
“It’s college football,” Bowles said. “He’s an emotional guy. I’ve seen [Terrell Owens] do a lot of things. I’ve seen worse than that.
“Players get excited when they play. That’s kind of the way they are.”
Bowles said Jets fans approach him every day with suggestions of whom they should get at quarterback.
“I’ve heard bring Joe Namath back,” Bowles said with a laugh.
Broadway Joe is not walking through that door … but Broadway Baker just might.
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