Baker Mayfield Says Giants Drafting Daniel Jones As First-Round Pick “Blows My Mind”

Cleveland Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield revealed this week he was baffled by the New York Giants‘ decision to draft fellow signal-caller Daniel Jones as a first-round pick this year.

“Blows my mind,” Mayfield said of Jones joining the Giants in an interview with GQ published Tuesday. “Some people overthink it. That’s where people go wrong. They forget you’ve gotta win.”

“Either you have a history of winning and being that guy for your team or you don’t,” Mayfield added.

The Giants selected Jones as the sixth overall pick earlier this year. The former Duke quarterback posted a 17-19 record during his college career. Mayfield, a former Heisman Trophy winner, was the Browns’ No. 1 overall pick out of Oklahoma in 2018.

Mayfield helped propel Cleveland to a 7-8-1 record last season after the team went winless (0-16) in 2017. In the GQ profile, the passer discussed many other topics related to his football career, both collegiate and professional. Mayfield talked about the time he planted Oklahooma’s flag at midfield in Ohio Stadium following the Sooners’ win over the Ohio State Buckeyes in 2017. The quarterback said he was surprised and “embarrassed” that members of the Sooners asked him to remove the flag and eventually apologized but was not sincere in his apology.

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Jones was reportedly impressive in training camp this summer, with Giants head coach Pat Shurmur saying he could get at least a few snaps during the preseason. Giants owner John Mara, however, said he was determined to make sure the rookie didn’t see the field so that Eli Manning could continue as the Giants’ starter. Manning, 38, posted one of his worst seasons last year after finishing with only 21 touchdowns and logging 11 interceptions in 16 games.

In the Giants’ preseason-opening 31-22 victory over the New York Jets on Aug. 8, Jones went 5-for-5 for 67 yards and a touchdown in his first series. Jones struggled more in last week’s 32-13 win over the Chicago Bears, where he fumbled twice despite going 11-of-14 for 161 yards and a touchdown. The Giants have not yet said whether or not Jones will play in Thursday’s game against the Bengals in Cincinnati.