Rich Cimini mock draft has Jets select Baker Mayfield at No. 3

ESPN’s Rich Cimini just dropped his first mock draft of the offseason and has the New York Jets selecting quarterback Baker Mayfield out of Oklahoma with the No. 3 overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft.

It’s that time of year where mock drafts will hit the internet faster than a New York minute. This time around, ESPN’s Rich Cimini just released his first mini-mock draft of the offseason and has the Jets selecting a quarterback that has many convinced he’ll be “the guy” whose name is called with the No. 3 overall pick.

In Cimini’s mock draft, he believes the Cleveland Browns will select quarterback Sam Darnold out of USC and a huge trade happening between the New York Giants and Buffalo Bills for the No. 2 overall pick. That’s right ladies and gentlemen, the Bills make a blockbuster trade just like the Jets did in order to be one spot ahead of Gang Green and take quarterback Josh Rosen out of UCLA.

Due to this scenario, Cimini believes the Jets would take the next logical quarterback from their war room draft board. Enter quarterback Baker Mayfield out of Oklahoma. In the grand scheme of things, when comparing Mayfield to another certain quarterback out of the Big 4 that would still be available for the taking, it’s a no-brainer.

Here’s what Cimini had to say was the reasoning for his decision directly from his article:

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The Jets prefer Mayfield over the big-armed Allen because of his winning pedigree and rare accuracy. Mayfield (6-foot ⅝ inches) would be the shortest quarterback drafted by the Jets since Jeff Blake (6-foot ¼) in 1992.

In Cimini’s scenario, it would also make sense to take Mayfield over Allen for all the obvious reasons. At least with Mayfield, he’s a proven winner, a fierce competitor, and is the kind of player that when on the gridiron, will do whatever it takes to leave a football game victorious. Quite honestly, it would be great to finally have a quarterback that possesses those attributes.

Mayfield is also a Heisman trophy winner and compared to Allen, is the better quarterback. The Jets shouldn’t even waste their time with Allen since he’s another project quarterback that the franchise has already been through enough times already with so many other “developmental” players at the most important position on the team.

Hopefully, the Jets select a quarterback they know is close to starting material and ready to be the next face of the franchise. Whether it’s Mayfield or someone else, general manager Mike Maccagnan has a lot to think about as this year’s draft draws closer due to so many scenarios that could arise before they’re even on the clock.