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The Broncos were one of many teams that showed up to watch Baker Mayfield and his University of Oklahoma teammates today during their pro day. But according to Gil Brandt, no team showed more interest than Denver... at least if you’re counting by the number of people they sent. The Broncos had seven employees in attendance at OU’s pro day, the most of any team. The Giants had the second largest presence with 5 representatives.
The Broncos didn’t just send the most people, though. They also sent the most important people. Only two teams sent their head coaches: the Bengals and Broncos. And only two teams sent their GMs: the Jets and the Broncos. Senior personnel adviser Gary Kubiak was present as well.
Broncos had most in attendance with 7 people, including John Elway, Vance Joseph and Gary Kubiak. Giants had second-most with 5. Only 2 head coaches (Bengals, Broncos) and 2 GMs (Jets, Broncos). #OUProDay https://t.co/zyq0nmcweP
— Gil Brandt (@Gil_Brandt) March 14, 2018
Factoring in all three of those elements, it seems pretty clear that the Broncos are genuinely and seriously interested in taking Mayfield in the first round of the upcoming 2018 NFL Draft.
And it’s no small thing that John Elway chose to be there at OU himself and to bring Vance Joseph along, because it will very likely cause the team to delay the introductory press conference for new quarterback Case Keenum by at least a day. And if that whole group attend’s UCLA’s pro day to watch Josh Rosen tomorrow, that delay will be even longer. That would seem to send a message about how the team views Keenum and what the long term plan is at quarterback.
Mayfield had a good workout, completing about 90% of his passes and showing off some mobility and velocity.
Final numbers from Baker Mayfield workout at #OUProDay
— Gil Brandt (@Gil_Brandt) March 14, 2018
70 attempts
62 completions
7 uncatchables
1 drop
Not that he needed it but helped himself. Good velocity, moves around well, can flick it deep. Made $$
Mayfield threw more than just footballs today, also throwing some shade at University of Texas quarterback Sam Ehlinger during the interviews after his workout concluded. Ehlinger had recently mocked Mayfield’s teammate, offensive tackle Orlando Brown, for his terrible showing at the 2018 NFL Combine.
Update:
A bit more information has come out about Mayfield’s pro day performance: Baker reportedly was under center for all of his scripted throws today, emphasizing the work he’s been putting in to add that skill to his game. That turns a pretty nice pro day into a truly impressive one, and could be a sign that Mayfield is a player who will adapt quickly to playing in the NFL.
Baker Mayfield is a competitor and a gamer. Dude had all of his scripted throws today under center to showcase what he’s been working on AND he ran up and down the field in between every set. Guy checks every box for me, really hope #broncos see it the same way
— Brandon Quinn (@TheBrandonQuinn) March 15, 2018