This year’s edition of the NFL Draft was a particularly intriguing based on the surplus of quality quarterbacks. It’s not every year you see five quarterbacks go in the 1st round, and on top of that they were seeded in different orders depending on who you asked.
If you asked Cleveland Browns Vice President of Player Personnel Alonzo Highsmith a month ago, he would have said Sam Darnold topped the class. While many agree, Highsmith was apparently adamant, saying recently that “you couldn’t tell me that Darnold wasn’t the best.” (via cantonrep.com). In the end, the Browns selected Baker Mayfield instead. What could have possibly changed the decision, that most would agree is the safer choice?
The following is an excerpt taken from cantonrep.com:
“Here’s the honest to God’s truth,” he said. “From the start of this college football season to the end of the season, I had Darnold No. 1 and Baker No. 2, (Josh) Rosen No. 3, (Lamar) Jackson No. 4 and (Josh) Allen after that.
“On our way through everything, you couldn’t tell me Darnold wasn’t the best. I did all my evaluations of the season.
“Then comes the part where you meet them off the field. You watch their workouts. You watch everything. And Baker blew me away. Highly, highly intelligent. Highly competitive.
“And he had a trait that some of the good ones have. I call it efficacy. That includes the power to effect other people. I thought that of all the quarterbacks I watched, he stood out far and above the other guys. When he walked into a room, you knew he was there.”
There you have it, Baker’s ability to effect other people is the intangible that really stuck with Highsmith. It led to one of the more controversial picks of the draft, and in the end Darnold was the next quarterback taken off the board with the New York Jets number three overall pick.
(H/T cantonrep.com)
