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Speculation as to whether Cleveland Browns QB Baker Mayfield will be traded during the 2022 NFL draft has varied in recent days but one analyst says that if he is, Mayfield will prove the steal of the weekend.
Former professional quarterback and current ESPN analyst Dan Orlovsky appeared on the Tuesday, April 26 edition of “Get Up,” during which he said he believes the Mayfield saga will come to an end this weekend on either Day 2 or Day 3 of the draft via a trade. The most likely trade partners, according to Orlovsky, reside almost exclusively in the NFC South division.
“I think it gets resolved this weekend and I think Baker Mayfield walks away as the steal of the NFL Draft,” Orlovsky said, adding that the Atlanta Falcons, Carolina Panthers, New Orleans Saints and Seattle Seahawks are all candidates to play the thief.
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Mayfield Injury Disproportionately Degraded His Trade Value
Getty ImagesCleveland Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield could be on a new team by the time the 2022 NFL Draft is over.
Orlovsky went on to justify his position by saying teams are mistakenly gauging Mayfield based on last season, nearly all of which he spent hurt and trying to gut out starts in Cleveland.
“What would this conversation be like if Baker Mayfield did not get hurt, or when he did get hurt, [if he sat] out and [got] the surgery and [did] not try to play through that injury?” Orlovsky asked.
“Because the reality is the vantage points. Are you looking at Baker Mayfield as a player from 2021 or 2020? Because the last time we saw him healthy in 2020, he was top 10 in QBR and he led the Browns to the playoffs with a defense that was bottom 10 in the NFL,” Orlovsky added. “He threw for 27 touchdowns and eight interceptions that year. So if teams are going to look at Baker Mayfield through the vantage point of 2021, that’s on them.”
Mayfield Valued at 3rd-Round or 4th-Round Pick in NFL Draft
Joe Sargent/Getty ImagesQuarterback Baker Mayfield of the Cleveland Browns walks off the field after failing to convert a third down against the Pittsburgh Steelers on October 18, 2020.
Based on Orlovsky’s logic, any team with a third- or fourth-round pick that still needs a QB should swap that selection for Mayfield and take advantage of his disproportionately deflated trade value based on an injury-plagued season.
“[Mayfield] was playing with multiple injuries and a torn labrum in his left shoulder. But if you’re looking at him through the lens of 2020, and you sit there in this draft and you want a quarterback … and you get to that third or fourth round and the guy that you don’t want is there — you sit there and say, ‘I’m gonna trade a fourth-round pick for a guy that four years ago was the No. 1 pick in the draft, for a guy that two years ago led his team to the playoffs and was top 10 in QBR.’ And you’re gonna trade a fourth-round pick for him?”
“Baker Mayfield has the opportunity to walk away as the steal of the NFL Draft.”
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1 of 4 NFC Teams Predicted to Trade For Browns’ Mayfield During Draft