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While Johnny Football continues to train for his epic “ComebackSZN” (and actually looking pretty good doing it), the man many want to compare him to, Baker Mayfield, is also prepping to go to work in the NFL.
He would just like everyone to knock it off with these comparisons to the enigmatic Johnny Manziel, thank you very much.
ESPN spoke to Mayfield about the comparisons to Manziel, who are both cocky former Texas high school stars, Heisman Trophy winners and men with criminal records.
“We’re two completely different people,” Mayfield said. “I’ve always been a team-oriented guy. Not saying that Johnny wasn’t, but I’ve quickly earned the respect of my teammates because of how I worked.
“I wasn’t given the natural talent that Johnny had. Because he’s a talent. And there’s a reason he got taken in the first round, amazing player. We’re just not the same mentally. Just wired differently.”
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Manziel, for his part, agrees with Mayfield, reports the Akron Beacon-Journal…
“Me and Baker, I feel like have a really cool friendship, and I feel like he’s handling [the comparisons] the exact right way,” Manziel said on Pardon My Take. “He’s like, ‘Listen,’ and I’ll say the same thing: We’re completely different people. We have a similar background. We’re both from Texas. We both played Texas high school football, but he’s not me, and I’m not him. The way my wires are in my head and the way that I’m built and my makeup is completely different than Baker.”
There are questions about Mayfield’s character and maturity because he was arrested Feb. 25 and charged with public intoxication, disorderly conduct and fleeing. He also raised eyebrows by planting a flag on the field after a victory at Ohio State and grabbing his crotch while directing expletives toward his opponents from the sideline at Kansas.
“Baker is fiery as hell,” Manziel said. “He gets a little amped up on the sidelines. Once you’re on the football field and you do some things that are a little outlandish, like guys do that all the time. Was it maybe a little bit too much? Sure. But at the end of the day, the guy made a mistake, he paid his dues and I think he’ll be better off because of it and he’ll learn from that.
“But I have all the faith in the world in him. I think he’s going to be a really good player, and if anything, people can compare him to me, but he can learn from what I did wrong. He can try and take something that I did and make it a positive for him.”
For what it’s worth, Mel Kiper, Jr. currently has Mayfield as the sixth-ranked quarterback on his draft board, going to the Jets, and behind QBs like Josh Allen, Saquon Barkley, Bradley Chubb, Minkah Fitzpatrick, and Sam Darnold.