Agent: Patriots were prepared to trade up for Mayfield at No. 2
It appears there were even more suitors for the services of quarterback Baker Mayfield than were reported before the draft.
The Cleveland Browns used the first overall pick on the reigning Heisman Trophy winner, but if they hadn't, another team had apparently indicated to Mayfield's camp that it was prepared to make a stunning move to nab the quarterback with the next selection.
"We had another team which is going to surprise you. Another team had said, 'You may get a big surprise on draft day, at No. 2, if he's available.' And it was the Patriots," Mayfield's agent, Jack Mills, said on Andrew Brandt's 'Business of Sports' podcast.
New England entered Day 1 of the draft loaded with picks and with a perceived need for a new heir to Tom Brady following the midseason trade of backup Jimmy Garoppolo last year. The Patriots were also rumored to be interested in trading up for a quarterback.
"They had 23 and they had 31 and they had two seconds. We thought, 'That's gonna be a heck of a move, to get up that high from where they are,'" Mills added. "And of course he wasn't available so we never knew if that was reality of not."
The Patriots made repeated attempts to land an interview with Mayfield ahead of the draft, according to Jeff Howe of The Athletic. However, the quarterback initially declined to meet with them as he believed the team didn't pick high enough to select him.
Howe added that Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels later told a member of Mayfield's camp that the team was considering making the requisite moves to be in a position to draft him. That led Mayfield to meet with New England a week before the draft.
Meanwhile, Mills said he knew the New York Jets - who held the No. 3 overall pick - would be "the bottom line" for Mayfield, and never thought the New York Giants would stay at No. 2, instead expecting another team would trade up to select a quarterback at that slot.
It certainly appears Mayfield knew something that many others didn't when he said he was "not going later" than the fifth overall pick, according to Robert Klemko of The MMQB.
- With h/t to Pro Football Talk
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