NFL teams
Rich Cimini, ESPN Staff Writer 6y

Mel Kiper's latest mock: Jets go outside the box with Baker Mayfield

If Mel Kiper Jr.'s latest mock draft is on the money, the New York Jets will be faced with a fascinating dilemma on April 26.

If they're still in the quarterback market -- if they don't sign Kirk Cousins -- the Jets will have a choice between Josh Rosen and Baker Mayfield at No. 6.

Rosen is widely regarded as the best pure passer in the draft. Mayfield is the undersized Heisman Trophy winner who put up video-game numbers in college.

Our man Mel predicts the Jets will pick Mayfield, which would break the Internet and send Jets Nation into a state of pandemonium. It would create a Tim Tebow-esque buzz, with one notable difference: Mayfield can actually play the position.

That said, I'd be surprised if it happens because Mayfield doesn't seem like a Mike Maccagnan kind of prospect.

Based on his drafting tendencies, the Jets' general manager seems to prefer players with prototypical traits -- height, weight, speed, etc. For a quarterback, that means a pocket passer, a 6-foot-3 (or taller) player with a strong arm.

Then again, we're basing this on only two picks: Christian Hackenberg and Bryce Petty, neither of whom has worked out.

Mayfield is the anti-Hackenberg -- accurate, mobile, fiery and only 6 feet tall. Some people think Mayfield is too fiery. Unlike Hackenberg, he has some maturity issues (on and off the field), which need to be checked out and could scare some teams away.

Simply put, Mayfield would be an outside-the-box pick for Maccagnan. Rosen is a classic pocket passer with size (6-foot-4) and fantastic arm talent, though there are questions about his durability and leadership intangibles. Rosen is hardly a sure thing, but he'd be considered a safer pick than Mayfield.

But safer doesn't always mean better. Maybe it's time for Maccagnan to make a bold move.

It's worth noting that Kiper has Sam Darnold slipping to the Denver Broncos with the fifth pick. If I'm the Jets, I'd be trying to leapfrog the Broncos with a trade because Darnold, in my opinion, is the best quarterback prospect in the draft.

This could be moot, of course, if Cousins accepts the Jets' millions.

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