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NFL Network's Mike Mayock thinks the Browns should jump at chance to trade up and take RG3 at No. 2
Published: Wednesday, February 15, 2012, 6:33 PM Updated: Wednesday, February 15, 2012, 6:58 PM
Mary Kay Cabot, The Plain Dealer


CLEVELAND, Ohio -- NFL Network draft expert Mike Mayock said Wednesday he "loves everything about'' Baylor quarterback Robert Griffin III and that the Browns should do everything they can to land him in the draft, including trading up.



"As much as I like Colt McCoy, I still think they have to look to upgrade that position and I think they have to do whatever it takes to get there,'' said Mayock of grabbing Griffin. "If it's me, yeah, I'm looking at that real hard. I want to go get RG3.''



Mayock said he'd consider a free agent such as Green Bay's Matt Flynn, too, but that he'd focus on moving up to No. 2 and giving the Rams the Browns' No. 4 and No. 22 overall picks to take Griffin.



"If you're talking purely draft, I'm looking to move up to No. 2 as opposed to No. 3, because if I move to three what if the Redskins come up to two? Obviously I'd like to give less -- I'd rather not give up No. 22 also -- but I think that's shortsighted when you're talking about trying to secure your future at the most important position in all of sports.''

Mayock stressed that if the Browns draft Griffin, they'll need to adapt their offense to suit his strong arm and world-class speed instead of molding him to their West Coast offense.

"I thought the coaches around the NFL last year did a better job than with rookie quarterbacks than they’ve ever done,'' said Mayock. "They adapted some of their offense to suit what the rookie quarterback does best. Look at Cam Newton. Look at (Andy) Dalton. Look at (Christian) Ponder. They gave those kids chances to make plays in comfortable situations.

“If Cleveland moves up to get this kid, they have to make this kid comfortable. He’s too explosive and too much of a playmaker to have him just sit there and read the triangle the West Coast offense is. In other words, (new offensive coordinator) Brad Childress and that group of coaches in Cleveland is going to have to change some things to make this kid the playmaker he is.''

Mayock described Griffin as "one of the most gifted kids in the last several years in this draft.

"Is there some downside to Robert Griffin? Yes, there is. However, you probably have the opportunity to move up and get him if you want him, and to me that's a pretty exciting proposition to build your young franchise around maybe the most exciting player in this year's draft.''

He said Flynn would provide "a more conventional NFL-style attack, versus with Griffin, grab a hold of the seat of your pants and we're going for a ride. It might be really special, and on the other hand, it might not. I think it's intriguing.''

Mayock said that although he loves "everything about the kid,'' he does have one question, and that's where the shred of doubt comes in. "He doesn't throw with anticipation, mostly because he doesn't have to,'' said Mayock. "In that offense, there's minimal footwork and they spread it out so wide. He's got some talented, gifted receivers, and he's got great touch and accuracy in medium and deep (throws). He's got arm strength, he's got athletic ability, he takes hits, but he doesn't anticipate throws.

"He waits until they develop and then throws them. My only question is, will he develop it? You won't find it at the combine. Where I think you'll find it is when teams meet with this kid and they sit down and put the tape on and they break it down with him and talk football and ask him what he sees or doesn't see.''

Despite that, Mayock thinks the Heisman Trophy winner is well worth the two No. 1s.

"I think it will be a hell of a ride,'' he said. "The more tape I put on of this kid, the more fun I have watching him. I was pleasantly surprised by his pocket awareness, his eyes down the field, and his physical toughness is outstanding. He takes a lot of hits and it doesn't bother him. All of those things mean a lot to me. And again, the one "however'' piece of it is just that he's going to have to learn to anticipate and get the ball out of his hands more quickly so he doesn't continue to take those kind of hits.''

Mayock said Griffin brings the one element the Browns really need.

"The bottom line for me is that he's a playmaker,'' said Mayock. "Bottom line, he's a playmaker and that's what this league's all about, especially at that position.''

Mayock said the comparisons between Griffin and 2011 rookie sensation Cam Newton make no sense.

"I think RG3 is a more natural thrower of the football, even though Cam was also,'' said Mayock. "I think RG3 looks down the field and throws more routes, and I don't think we had any of the off-the-field issues that we had with Cam. From my perspective, you're looking at a clean kid and now you're just trying to evaluate the football piece of it. To me it's a completely different animal.''

He said Griffin's height -- he's listed as 6-2 but some might think he'll be closer to 6-1 at the combine -- won't be an issue.

"This kid I think is such a great athlete that he can find lanes differently and still keep his eyes down the field and still make plays,'' said Mayock. "He's not just a runner. I think people are getting hung up on that. I think he's a gifted thrower also.''

He said the Browns would have to be looking at Oklahoma State receiver Justin Blackmon and Alabama running back Trent Richardson if they don't draft Griffin.

"Blackmon and Richardson are two very logical people if you stay there at four,'' he said.

”The last (running back) you banged the table this hard for was Adrian Peterson when he came out of Oklahoma,'' said Mayock. "I think his height, weight speed toughness all adds up to a pretty solid pick. I would surmise absolutely (he's a good pick for the Browns).''

We just made all these moves to bring in WCO guys, all on the same page only to draft a non WQCO QB?

If anything we can finally turn to chapter 2 and 3 of the WCO (see Philly) and implement some deep crossers, which in return, open up the bread and butter underneath stuff

We can EXPAND the playbook and not CUT IT DOWN like we had to for Colt....major difference

I have two questions for all the gurus out there.

Let's say that we do what mayock suggests..Trade up to get RG3. he comes in and as often happens with rookies on a less than talented team, they struggle for a year.. maybe more. (bradford)

Are we then supposed to go after the next new shiny object QB in the draft?

Will we get another article in two years from Mayock or some other media draft Guru that says we should go after Joe X as the next great QB that we just 'Gotta have"?

When is this merry-go-round going to end.

At some point, you gotta stop looking for a winning Madden team or fantasy team and get real.

So, if we do go after RG3 or Luck or whoever,, Damn it, YOU GOTTA GIVE IT TIME TO MATURE. No more quick triggers. it's insanity..

YOU DO NOT HAVE TO HAVE THE BEST at every position.. EVEN QB.

It helps,, it would be wonderful,, great in fact. But it's not required.. You get enough good players that are motivated, you can win a lotta games.. A Whole lotta games..

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Mayock stressed that if the Browns draft Griffin, they'll need to adapt their offense to suit his strong arm and world-class speed instead of molding him to their West Coast offense.

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I seriously doubt that the Browns are going to change the WCO after just spending a year installing the offense and bringing in another WCO coach to help teach it.

If the Browns draft Griffin, he will have to adapt to the WCO.

As for RG the superior running, athletic QB...the NFL has a way of chewing up running QBs who believe they can run like they did in college. Griffin is not a Tim Tebow type who can endure the punishment...though Tebow found out the hard way...they hit a heck of a lot harder in the NFL.

Griffin already has a surgically repaired right knee which cost him most of his 2009 season (9 games). If he's going to be a QB for the Browns, he will have be a pass first, throw the ball away second, and run only if you have to third, type of QB.

I believe he can adapt to the NFL and the WCO but whether Griffin becomes a successful QB in the NFL depends on his ability to pass the ball...not his ability to run the ball.

FWIW - On the way to work the other day I was listening to NFL radio and Solomon Wilcox was talking about how RGIII is a perfect fit for a WCO in general and was talking specifically about his fit with the Browns.

This is an issue of MKC misinterpreting what Mayock is saying. He's saying "If you're just going to run a normal West Coast, you're going to miss out on/waste a lot of what he can do."

Here's Mayock's quote:

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“If Cleveland moves up to get this kid, they have to make this kid comfortable. He’s too explosive and too much of a playmaker to have him just sit there and read the triangle the West Coast offense is. In other words, (new offensive coordinator) Brad Childress and that group of coaches in Cleveland is going to have to change some things to make this kid the playmaker he is.''

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This isn't saying he can't run the WCO at all. It's saying he has skills that will go to waste if we run an offense where Mike Lombardi can call the plays based on down and distance.

Yeah,, you are right Steve,, OK,, Thanks for correcting my take.

Michael Vick sure isn't a prototypical WCO QB and they brought him into Philly and it largely worked. He's got health issues and head issues but that's something else. RG3 is more accurate, stronger and smarter. WCO is a very loose definition, there's a lot of styles and individual nuances to a WCO. He's a bright kid with a strong arm and TONS of natural ability. I think you have to gamble in this league when you're up at this end of the draft order with a questionable QB in the pocket and a potential franchise guy sitting there. I personally see *STAR* when I watch this kid play. I think he's got "it" IMO. And frankly we could afford to let Colt start the year. If he does reasonably well then we've got a very nice problem heading into next years offseason with a lower 1st round pick and a QB for trade. You gotta know we're going to get a look at RG3 at some point anyway. No one taking snaps stays healthy for a full 16 on the Browns, lol.

I would be willing to bet a lot is going to depend on H&H&S interviewing the kid and how they all get along. If he's positive and receptive to suggestions and molding, I would think that would play into the decision quite a bit. If I was in that decider room that would be very important to me. Does he have that balance of humility and confidence, openness and determination, etc? Being a great QB is at least 50% upstairs.

Every QB prospect with an ounce of accuracy "fits" the WCO...they typically say things like "fits best in a WCO" to 1 dimensional, "system" QBs with severe shortcomings (most times lack of arm and height)...like Colt McCoy was as a prospect or Kellen Moore is thsi draft...

that DOES NOT mean that other QB prospects can't play in a WCO...it just means that THOSE "limited" QBs can ONLY play in a WCO....it doesn't exclude others to play in a WCO

RG fits the WCO as much as Luck and McCoy...but Luck and RG can be drafted for other systems too, elevating their "value"....

Similar to this you'll often find OLB prospects that can "only" play on the weak side in a 43 because they're undersized....mostly OLB/SS tweeners like L.David, Spence etc...that limits their value and those prospects tend to drop

Back to RG: I agree though that he has to forget about running the ball and becaome strictly a pocket passer...but he has already shown in College that he is a passer 1st by going through progressions and searching for receivers before taking off....Colt otoh always has been a 1read or dump/take off QB....he never kept his eyes downfield searching for receivers even in College...and he sruggled to do so last season...when he tried to he was often late to throw as we've all witnessed and even when situations demanded he looks downfield he reverted back to his instincts and either took off or dumped it to Mack or a RB on 3rd and long....he is simply overwhelmed by the speed of the game and he can't process it yet (and think he never will, as he has no plus trait to make up for it)....I and others have criticized him for "stat whoring" but that wasn't fair as he never did this on purpose...he simply was not ABLE to do something else (call it lack of ability or confidence or a mix of both...the end result is the same)...it's his "style" and what he can do...and that's simply not enough to be considered a NFL franchise QB

If,this kid is as good as advertised,go get him.
If,the people in charge are not flexible enough to adapt to what this kid,or any player for that matter,is capable of,than get rid of them.
I don't believe the latter to be the case.These are smart football men that have been around for quite awhile.
The naysayers will find a thousand reasons(read excuses) to not trade for this kid.
our QB play has been horrific for,well forever it seems.If the only negative is that he lacks anticipation,then,this ain't no ketchup commercial.

Scheme is overrated.

I guess the question I have is, will we make the adjustments??

Good Lb analogy.

I am waiting for the combine results to get RGIII's true Ht/Wt. Is he big and strong enough to take the beating that ALL NFL Qb's take every year?

General comment:

Is Aaron Rodgers "wasted" in Green Bay's version of the WCO?

I don't think so.

Was Brett Favre?

I, for one, would love to see some of the deeper routes down the field, and deeper outs ... frrst, actually thrown ....... and second, thrown with authority.

Now, the reason I quoted you ......

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YOU DO NOT HAVE TO HAVE THE BEST at every position.. EVEN QB.

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You sure better get one of the best if you want to win a Super Bowl. That is the lesson of the last decade or so. Teams with average to slightly above average QBs don't win championships anymore. I want a guy with an arm that the defense has to respect so that underneath stuff opens up. I want a guy who can hit a wide open receiver on a go, or especially against a blown coverage. Plus, it makes it so much easier if you have a great QB. If it's crunch time .... down by 4 with 35 seconds left at our own 30, I want a guy who might be able to get us to the end zone.

That might just be me though.

As far as when the "merry go round ends" ..... when we get a guy who shows the potential to be great. Right now, for any of the things that McCoy does well, he shows potential to maybe be good. Good doesn't cut it anymore. To win Super Bowls you need great.

I agree with this. I think the play calling was hampered by the talent on the field and not the other way around. Can't call plays if your guys aren't good enough to make them work.

It doesn't matter if RG3 is short. It doesnt matter that he took 1 snap from under center in his career. It doesn't matter that his footwork is sloppy. It Doesn't matter if he is a horrible fit for this offense.

If we spend 2 firsts to trade up and get him, he is going to be great. Why because he is worth 2 firsts. All we have to do is dump the system we are trying to install.

Just think if we spend 4 firsts on Luck wow he is really going to be a superstar. Superbowl every year!!!

the point was that that was what Drew Brees measured at the combine. He had a shoulder injury one year, but I'd say he's been able to be successful at the NFL level overall.

From mac's video, at the Heisman award ceremony: RG3 and Luck standing up after sitting side by side.

I think that RG3 slouches sometimes, which makes him look shorter than he is.

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First off this guy says that rg3 has problems with anticipating routes. Well guess what...our entire offense is based off anticipation and timing.

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IIRC, this is the same thing they are saying about Tannehill.

Not only should we change our offense to make him more comfortable, but we should trade up to #2 also.

And it's going to take more then the #4 and#22 selections to do so.

Staying at #4 and taking the BPA doesn't offer the drama that a trade in the top 5 does, so naturally they would like nothing more to create more drama and more to discuss concerning the Draft.

Not to worry folks, these guys are all fickle and will change their tune when the wind blows from now and up to the Draft. It's not their interest at steak.

I just expected more thoughtfulness out of Mike Mayock.

Where have I heard this song before.....

In the article this thread is based on Mike Mayock, one of the most respected analysts in football, says, "He’s too explosive and too much of a playmaker to have him just sit there and read the triangle the West Coast offense is. In other words, (new offensive coordinator) Brad Childress and that group of coaches in Cleveland is going to have to change some things to make this kid the playmaker he is."

Its not that I want to bag on Mike Mayock. He's as good as any of the draft guru's, I guess - BUT - he did have Blaine Gabbert and Jake Locker ahead of Cam Newton, Andy Dalton, and Christian Ponder. In 2010, he thought the Browns should take Jimmy Clausen at #7 in the first round. In 2009, he had Mark Sanchez ranked ahead of Matt Stafford. In 2005, he preferred Alex Smith over Aaron Rodgers. The real talent evaluators work in NFL front offices, and as of right now they aren't talking.

Right. Mayock is saying he has more skills than are required in this offense. He's not saying Griffin can't run this offense.

I would love to have an FO and Coach who know how to put a round peg in a round hole !

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The real talent evaluators work in NFL front offices, and as of right now they aren't talking.

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I agree.

Mayock is fun to listen to, but I don't think he always thinks objectively before he speaks and he let's his emotions get the better of him, not unlike many fans do.

We should trade away our draft and change our offense to suit one player.

If you take out said player out of this said equation, then you have to see that it's impulsive and hair brained to suggest such a thing.

Is it even a given that another team will trade into the top 5 (2) to take Griffen.

No it is not.

This is all based on pure and simple speculation.

One in which creates more drama for the Draft.

I'm pretty confident, that if we do Draft Griffen, that he will have to learn 'our' system, even if that means him sitting on the bench for a year or two and that's a lot to give (trade) up for a guy who may or may not be "the guy". Mean while back at the farm we have less options in this and next years draft to continue building this franchise.

I'll take a 50/50 chance on any one draft pick and live with the possible out come if he fails to cut the mustard, but I can't live with losing out on 3 possible high draft picks, that can go along way in improving this team in the next two years.

If mayock, Kiper, or any other these other self proclaimed guru's were any good they would be working for a NFL team.