SPARTANBURG, SC – Carolina Panthers offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo wasn’t as critical of quarterback Baker Mayfield on Tuesday as he was in 2018, when he expressed concern about the Heisman Trophy winner’s height, arm size and playing style. points to the NFL draft.
Mayfield seems to have won over one of his most famous critics.
“Baker, since he’s been here the last two weeks, it’s been pretty impressive,” McAdoo said, speaking for the first time about the former Cleveland Browns starter since the Panthers acquired him in a trade last month.
McAdoo didn’t say who would win the “open” Mayfield-Sam Darnold competition, but for the second time in two days, a Panthers representative used the word “impressive” to describe Mayfield.
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“What did you do in 10 days [of camp] is pretty impressive,” coach Matt Rule said Monday. “He makes really big jumps.”
In a 2018 article in The New York Times, McAdoo rated Josh Allen as the top quarterback ahead of the draft, followed by Lamar Jackson, Darnold, Josh Rosen, Mason Rudolph and Mayfield.
Mayfield went No. 1 to the Browns and Darnold went No. 3 to the New York Jets.
McAdoo’s assessment of Mayfield’s exit from Oklahoma was mixed. He was particularly concerned about Mayfield’s height (6-foot-1) and small hands — 8.5 inches, the same initially as 2022 first-round pick Kenny Pickett, whose hand size was scrutinized before the draft.
“He has an advantage over himself; that’s what I like,” McAdoo said of Mayfield in 2018. “He’s going to lead, they’re going to follow. I didn’t see much pro-style football in his college tape. And if you’re short, you have to be able to make up for it somehow, somehow, and personality doesn’t do that.
“I didn’t think he was a great athlete. That guy is kind of a pocket quarterback that’s short and has small hands, that’s what I’m worried about.”
McAdoo voiced none of those concerns Tuesday. That Mayfield had three passes at the line in Monday’s practice, he said, had nothing to do with height.
He couldn’t say enough about Mayfield’s leadership.
“One of his strengths is command,” McAdoo said. “He can lead a room, he can command a room, he can command an offense. He has a good presence about him. And, you know, he’s got fire in his gut.”
McAdoo also likes that Mayfield has adjusted to his system with little difficulty.
“The thing about Baker is he’s been in a lot of offensive systems going back to college and then going through the pros,” McAdoo said. “He’s smart and really works at it. It helps him. He’s here very early in the morning and I’m sure he’s burning the midnight oil to catch up.”
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