Cleveland Browns: Baker Mayfield vs. Johnny Manziel

Baker Mayfield and Johnny Manziel have similarities, but the differences are why the Cleveland Browns should be targeting the Oklahoma quarterback in the 2018 NFL Draft.

The Cleveland Browns are preparing for the 2018 offseason, mercifully. A big part of that will be addressing the quarterback position. So as Baker Mayfield and the Oklahoma Sooners prepare for Georgia in the college football playoff and Johnny Manziel had just gotten the green light from the CFL, it’s time to address an all too common thought from Browns fans; that the Browns should want no part of Mayfield because he’s too much like Manziel.

It’s understandable why Browns fans would be gunshy with everything that they went through with Manziel. And if people just see a couple clips of some of the things each have done on the field as well as off of it, it’s not difficult to understand why people get that impression. But as with most things, after some digging, it becomes pretty clear just how different the two players are.

Physical Stature

Both quarterbacks were knocked for being short and linked as a result.

Johnny Manziel

5-11.75, 207 pounds

Baker Mayfield

6-1, 220 pounds (Listed, but it’s been largely confirmed that when he officially measures at the combine, he will be no shorter than 6-0.5)

Mayfield is slightly taller, but the more noticeable difference is the build. Manziel was incredibly lean and his weight was always going to be a concern. His playing style in college led to some knicks and dings that only added to this concern. Enough people call Mayfield chubby that he owns it when he talks about himself. He’s just got a noticeably thicker trunk and overall body than Manziel ever had.

Before College

Both Manziel and Mayfield are from Texas and played their high school in 4A; Manziel near San Antonio and Mayfield in Austin.

Manziel was considered a 3-star recruit that chose a scholarship from Texas A&M over offers from Stanford and Oregon.

Mayfield received a late offer from Florida Atlantic, but chose to walk on at Texas Tech. It’s not clear why Mayfield wasn’t recruited.

Collegiate Career

Both Manziel and Mayfield won the Heisman Trophy. Manziel was the first ever redshirt freshman to win the award while Mayfield was the first ever walk on to win the award in his redshirt senior year. Manziel redshirted as a freshman, then played two seasons before declaring for the NFL Draft.

Mayfield started as a true freshman for seven games at Texas Tech. After an injury, head coach Kliff Kingsbury made it pretty clear that Mayfield wouldn’t have a future there, so he opted to transfer to Oklahoma, who didn’t even know Mayfield was coming.

Manziel played 26 games in college. Mayfield has played 47, will get at least one more in the playoff. Manziel posted a 4-6 record against ranked opponents, including his most famous win as a freshman in Tuscaloosa. With a game to be played against Georgia in the playoff, Mayfield has a 10-3 record against ranked opponents.

Production

Johnny Manziel

Completion Percentage: 68.9
Yards per Attempt: 9.38
Adjusted Yards per Attempt: 9.44
TD:INT ratio: 63:22
TD %: 7.3%
INT %: 2.5%
Yards per game: 300

Baker Mayfield

Completion Percentage: 68.6
Yards per Attempt: 9.79
Adjusted Yards per Attempt: 10.66
TD:INT ratio: 129:29
TD %: 8.8%
INT %: 1.9%
Yards per game: 304

In terms of raw passing numbers, both quarterbacks are impressive. Nevertheless, Mayfield is the more productive, more efficient passer.

Additional Notes

Manziel carried the ball 345 times for 2,169 yards and 30 touchdowns, leading the team both years and accounting for 39 percent of the team’s rushing yards. Of his total output, Manziel’s rushing yardage accounted for 21.7 percent of it.

Mayfield rushed for 1,078 yards and 21 touchdowns on 391 carries. That translates to 10.4 percent of his team’s rushing totals. His rushing was only 7 percent of his total production.

In other words, Manziel’s legs were as integral to his team’s success as his arm. Texas A&M played true 11 on 11 football, forcing teams to consistently account for Manziel as a run threat and making it easier for him to find matchups in the passing game. Mayfield uses his legs, but it’s more of an accent to his overall game.

Mike Evans, now with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, accounted for 28.7 percent of Texas A&M’s receiving yards in the two seasons Manziel played. Ryan Swope had the second most with 10.4 percent. For Mayfield’s career, Dede Westbrook leads the way with 15.8 percent followed by Mark Andrews with 11.9 and Sterling Shepard with 8.9.

Some of this is purely a result of Manziel being on the same schedule as Evans since they were in the same recruiting class. It also demonstrates just how special Evans was in college, which helps illustrate why he went 7th overall in the 2014 NFL Draft. Mayfield played longer, so it makes sense that his receiver usage is so diverse. It also shows he’s been extremely successful with a variety of different weapons around him.

CLEVELAND, OH – DECEMBER 13: Quarterback Johnny Manziel #2 of the Cleveland Browns walks off the field during the end of the second quarter against the San Francisco 49ers at FirstEnergy Stadium on December 13, 2015 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Andrew Weber/Getty Images) /

Off the Field

Manziel and Mayfield have each had brushes with the law that have been quite public.

Manziel was arrested and taken to jail for fighting in 2012. He was cited for disorderly conduct, failure to identify and possession of a fake idea. The Aggies suspended him. In 2013, Manziel was investigated and later suspended during the offseason for taking money to sign autographs. He was suspended for the first game of his sophomore year.

Manziel admitted at the NFL scouting combine he participated in counseling for alcohol and anger management at the request of head coach Kevin Sumlin. His parents said in an article from Wright Thompson that they were worried their son used alcohol as a crutch and his father said “I don’t know where the anger comes from.”

And although it’s not illegal or even wrong, Manziel’s entire career in College Station was in the spotlight. There were videos of him at parties and with his family’s wealth, it became pretty commonplace to see him at sporting events including court side at basketball games, which only worked to increase his celebrity.

This was all before the Browns drafted him with the 22nd pick overall in the 2014 NFL Draft. Manziel would go on to have the following issues after being picked, to which owner Jimmy Haslam would later claim in a press conference he had no idea about all of these problems before picking him.

Manziel would check himself into rehab for alcohol in February of 2015. In October of the same year, he would have a domestic issue with his then girlfriend, where she alleged physical abuse but wouldn’t press charges. Manziel admitted to having been drinking earlier in the day.

Then in November, after insisting he would behave himself and not put the team in a bad light during the bye week, video surfaced of Manziel partying along with reports that it wasn’t an isolated incident which lead to then head coach Mike Pettine benching him.

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In December, before the Browns were set to play the Pittsburgh Steelers, Manziel was found in Las Vegas in disguise, going by ‘Billy’. He was supposed to be in the concussion protocol and would later be fined for missing treatment.

In January of 2016, Manziel was involved in another domestic incident with the same girl as the traffic situation. She alleged violence and this time would press charges. The Browns then released Manziel in March.

While it would seem to be unfair to Manziel to include all of his NFL incidents, it’s important to note that because he only stayed at Texas A&M for three years and was with the Browns for two, the entire string of events occurred for the same length of time of Mayfield’s entire college career between Tech Tech and then Oklahoma.

As for Mayfield, he d was cited for public drunkenness and disorderly conduct when he tried to run from police, which was caught on video. He has a reputation for partying, but especially now, he’s over 21 so he’s legally allowed to do it, but obviously teams will have to vet him in that regard. Teams are or may have already looked into the details of Mayfield’s tranfer from Texas Tech to Oklahoma to see how he handled it.

Everything else with Mayfield largely stems from things he did on the field, such as the incident with Kansas in which he offered an apology. The team took away his captain status for the final game and sat him out for maybe two plays. In this respect, Mayfield has similarity to Manziel who flicked off the Washington Redskins sideline and helps feed the comparison.

Scouting Notes

It should come as little surprise that Mayfield is far more polished than Manziel coming out of college. He played two more seasons of college football than Manziel did. Whereas Manziel was called a project by most with some thinking he would need multiple years in the NFL before he’d be truly ready, Mayfield is ready to play in the NFL out of the box.

Manziel’s mechanics were inconsistent. Because of his playing style, his footwork and weight transfer were often out of sync because he never knew when he was going to cock and fire. He had so many variations from which to throw from that he could end up throwing pass too high. When everything was right, Manziel could make some special throws but it was going to take a lot of work and effort to make it occur on a regular basis.

Mayfield’s mechanics are by in large excellent. How far he keeps his feet apart are the area that can be nitpicked. At times, he can end up keeping his hip closed, which prevents him from keeping his feet in the right line on throws when he’s going to multiple reads. It’s a small detail that can be worked out, but overall he’s really good in the pocket or out of it.

The more notable difference is arm strength. Mayfield’s arm is superior. A lot of this comes down to consistent mechanics and weight transfer as both quarterbacks were strong in the midsection and showed they could rip it. The problem is that when Manziel was wrong, the ball would come out weak and flutter. Mayfield doesn’t have these issues and his passes are consistent and he shouldn’t have an issue going to the next level.

Manziel arguably brought more to the table. His ability to create and extend plays with his legs were what made him such a marvel in college. Mayfield can do some of those things, but his peaks aren’t as high. The difference is Mayfield doesn’t have the valleys as he’s far more trained to make right decisions with the football. He may not have as many spectacular plays, but he avoids the negative ones as well. Mayfield is just consistently better and more reliable. There’s also no question that Mayfield can work within structure where that was Manziel’s biggest question coming into the NFL.

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Lastly, Mayfield consistently elevates the players around him. His presence in the offense instantly makes his teammates better. Manziel was the offense. When he wasn’t running around, so much of the offense was heaving the ball up in hopes that Mike Evans would come down with it, which happened at an incredible rate. Manziel was more spectacle and play maker than he was quarterback and facilitator. I had Johnny Manziel rated as a top 100 pick in the 2014 NFL Draft whereas I have Baker Mayfield rated as the best quarterback in the 2018 class.

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