Adrian Peterson has a strong opinion about QB Baker Mayfield. And Brett Favre agrees.
Every year as the NFL draft approaches, top prospects are compared to the current NFL players they most closely resemble.
As a quarterback on the shorter side, Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield’s name is often mentioned alongside Seattle’s Russell Wilson or Saints star Drew Brees. Of course, those are both generous comparisons, as Brees is a future Hall of Famer and Wilson has been to the Super Bowl twice.
But on the other hand, due to his off-the-field issues and on-field swagger, Mayfield is also compared to another former Heisman Trophy winner — Johnny Manziel.
Mayfield is doing everything he can to rebuff those comparisons to Manziel. He might be happy to know that another former Sooner, running back Adrian Peterson, thinks highly enough of Mayfield that he’s compared him to an all-time great — Brett Favre.
Peterson played with Favre during the quarterback’s late-career stint with the Minnesota Vikings. The running back has watched Mayfield closely throughout his college career.
Peterson was asked by TMZ Sports if a Favre comparison is accurate for Mayfield, and he responded that Mayfield does indeed remind him of a younger Favre.
“Playing with Brett Favre, even though he was at an older age, 39, he was still running around and being that gunslinger,” Peterson said. “I see that in Baker as well. … When you see how elusive he is when he’s out there with the ball in his hands, the type of throws he can make, the angles he throws the ball at, he makes plays.”
“Not only that, you think about the young Brett Favre. He scrambled, he ran, he dove for first downs. I feel like (Mayfield) can do those things as well.”
Favre was a stationary quarterback when he played with Peterson in the 2009 and 2010 seasons, but Peterson is right about the younger Favre being a scrambler, just like Mayfield.
Favre was known for extending plays with his legs and even taking off and running on occasion. At the start of his career, in fact, he ran for at least 100 yards in a season nine consecutive times. By comparison, Tom Brady and Peyton Manning have only done that three times apiece.
TMZ reached out to Favre to see whether he agreed with Peterson, and the Hall of Famer said he approved of the comparison.
“I do. Makes a lot plays with his legs, moving around, buying time … but mostly his enthusiasm and competitive spirit is what I see,” Favre said.
Favre had to wait until the second round to be drafted by the Falcons in 1991 partly because he went to Southern Mississippi, a small program that didn’t have much exposure.
Mayfield — a Heisman winner who played at Oklahoma — certainly doesn’t have that problem. He also likely won’t have to wait until the second round to hear his name called. In fact, he’ll probably be selected early in the first round.
Peter Schrager of NFL.com has the Buffalo Bills trading up to the No. 6 spot to draft Mayfield, while Todd McShay of ESPN has him going 11th to the Miami Dolphins.
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