"Sam Darnold’s arm talent is better than Baker Mayfield's" - NFL Network analyst gets roasted by fans for take on Panthers QBs
Baker Mayfield has fans and detractors in seemingly equal measure, and the new Carolina Panthers quarterback has attracted a lot of headlines this offseason. To be fair to Mayfield, on most occasions, the attention he has gathered has been generated by others.
Mayfield remains a polarizing figure in the NFL, and analysts know that discussing him will generate publicity. Unfortunately, at times this can lead to people making what many consider to be controversial comments.
Enter former Super Bowl winner Mike Robinson, who provided one of the hottest offseason takes. On Good Morning Football, Baker Mayfield was the topic of discussion, allowing Robinson to provide the following take:
"Why do we think that Baker Mayfield is one of the top 32 arms in the National Football League? I don't think he is. Baker Mayfield is not a starting quarterback in the National Football League."
Robinson went on to say that Mayfield might not even be "one of the top 64 arms" in the NFL:
"I can make an argument that he might not be one of the top 64 arms in the National Football League and I know people gonna get at me. Yeah, come on..."
Robinson finished by saying that Sam Darnold has better arm talent than Mayfield.
“Sam Darnold’s arm talent is better than Baker Mayfield’s. I challenge anybody... just go watch both of them throw the football. The ball jumps out of Sam Darnold’s hands.”
"(Baker Mayfield) might not be one of the top 𝟲𝟰 arms in the National Football League." — @RealMikeRob 👀 https://t.co/fsEzLrSDUb
NFL fans were quick to take Robinson to task for his comments.
Baker may not be a top 64 arm talent in the NFL, but @RealMikeRob is a top 10 dumbass in sports talk tv. Let’s talk about it twitter.com/gmfb/status/15…
@Mavs_Ace @WillifordLeo @gmfb @RealMikeRob Absolutely insane. Darnold has never had the arm talent of mayfield. This guy should not have this job.
@gmfb @RealMikeRob Statistically, this is one of the worst takes I've seen. Baker easily has top 20 arm talent. Comparing him to Darnold like you did in this video, Baker is statistically better in all positive categories with few interceptions. It's not even close.
@gmfb @RealMikeRob Ha! Says the 4th round draft pick from Penn State. Yep..you must be an authority! Btw..as a "Pundit", you are not in the top 64 either.
Also Checkout:- Baker Mayfield Parents
Does Baker Mayfield have below-average arm talent?
The simple answer would be no. The statistics do not appear to support Robinson's assessment of Mayfield's arm talent. In 2020, Mayfield threw the longest attempted pass charted in NFL history by Next Gen Stats at a whopping 66.4 yards, two more than the next longest attempt.
Baker Mayfield's end of the half hail mary attempt last night was the longest NFL pass attempt PFF has ever charted 🚀 👀
https://t.co/lsRWDiwCjT
Mayfield is also ranked second in Combine history for ball velocity, tied with Patrick Mahomes of the Kansas City Chiefs at 60mph and behind only the rocket-armed Josh Allen, who recorded 62mph.
If Robinson had criticized Mayfield for his accuracy, his argument might have some merit. But in the eyes of many, suggesting that the new Panthers quarterback's arm talent is not within the top 64 players in the league is disrespectful to Mayfield and damages the credibility of Robinson as an analyst.
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