Baker Mayfield says he 'cannot believe' the Giants drafted Duke QB Daniel Jones in the first round -- Does he know that Tom Brady, who was pretty mediocre at Michigan, was selected in the sixth round? Classless comment

... then tries to claim he was misquoted

In a new profile for GQ, Baker Mayfield commented on the Giants' decision to draft Daniel Jones as quarterback, which has prompted a lot of reactions from the NFL community.

Here is my reaction:

Dear Baker Mayfield, 

A reminder that Tom Brady was a sixth-round pick and everyone thought that the Patriots were crazy. You have accomplished nothing thus far, so keep your mouth shut and respect other players.

I have never — nor will I ever — played fantasy football. It is probably fun, but I coach about a quarter-century of football, wrote about it for about another quarter-century, and have watched it for more than 60 years.

That is enough for me.

However, I do enjoy my blog and some social media. On Twitter I saw this absurd quote from a young man who knows little about history — and has no humility.

His name is Baker Mayfield, and he is the quarterback for the Cleveland Browns. In case you do not follow NFL football, the Browns have been the most woeful franchise of the past quarter-century. It has been sad to see what Art Modell did to that community when he moved the franchise to Baltimore in the middle of the night.

Browns history

Prior to that, when I was a kid in the 1950s, the Browns were fabulous with quarterback Otto Graham and running back par excellence Jim Brown and one of the most ingenious coaches of all time, Paul Brown.

Then Modell moved the team and called them the Ravens in 1996. He was upset that the city would not build a new stadium.

The city was without a franchise until 1999, and in the past 20 years, the team has had just two winning seasons, the last one 12 years ago. They have reached the playoffs just one time, in 2002 when they were 9-7.

Now, they have a quarterback who thinks he is all-world despite playing just part of a season for the team — and doing well.

He obviously knows nothing about the Browns' history, nor about how he should treat others professionally.

Mayfield’s transgression

What amused me was when I saw a story listed online that said. “Who are the five most overrated quarterbacks in fantasy football in 2019? Guess who is on that list?

Yes, that same Baker Mayfield. In it, the author argues that while Mayfield had a good rookie season, though he did not earn a starting spot until almost halfway through it, there is such a thing as a “sophomore slump” that could affect him and the reigning MVP from last year, Patrick Mahomes of Kansas City — who though not a rookie, was in his first year as a starter and passed for more than 5,000 yards.

Mahomes also directed his team, despite a weak defense, to the AFC title game, one that they could have won.

Conversely, Mayfield could not direct his team to a playoff berth despite a late-season collapse by the Pittsburgh Steelers. However, another rookie QB from Baltimore did lead his team, the Ravens, to the playoffs in the AFC North. Despite doing that, Lamar Jackson is not ripping on the talents of other players.

Lacks class

Mayfield has demonstrated that he does not appreciate the opportunity that he has been given. Few athletes have that talent. However, he has nothing to brag about now. Yes, Vegas is picking them to win the division and is 5th favorite to reach the Super Bowl.

However, games and championships are not won in Vegas. The Browns have not won a division title in a long time, and Mayfield failed to lead them there last season.

By denigrating Daniel Jones, he has demonstrated his lack of class. As such, I would love to see him fail in 2019, and that is not just because I am a Steelers fan. I felt the same way about A.B. and Le’Veon Bell. They had not dignity and class either, and they dragged down the team with them.

When talking about Daniel Jones, who was the sixth pick in last April's NFL draft by the New York Giants, Mayfield said in a GQ feature, 

Blows my mind. 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.

GQ Magazine, Aug. 20, 2019

That is how he denigrated a fellow quarterback. Message: 

You have not won anything in the NFL yet, Mr. Mayfield. Keep your mouth shut until you do.
And remember, Tom Brady had a very lackluster career at Michigan. That is why he was a sixth-round pick. Yet, he demonstrated on the field that he could play. If Brady had said that about Jones, he would have been considered reasonable because he has credibility.

Baker Mayfield is a jerk. He has no credibility.

Mayfield tried to backtrack on Instagram

Later today, Mayfield alleged that he did not say what he obviously did say. Just for clarity, in major interviews with places like GQ, the interview is recorded. I have done that with every in-person interview I ever conducted.

Nevertheless, the Cleveland QB is saying this, according to his Instagram account,

This is not what I said ... just so we're clear. I also said I was surprised I got drafted number one. Then was talking about the flaws in evaluating QB's. Where I brought up winning being important. Reporters and media will do anything to come up with a click bait story. Heard nothing but good things and wish nothing but the best for Daniel.

Jake Trotter, ESPN, “Mayfield: Giants pick of Jones ‘blows my mind’,” Aug. 20, 2019

Dude, this was not a click-bait story. Welcome to the big leagues. They have this on tape and can release the transcript. 

Just apologize and move on.