Jets' Bowles heaps praise on Mayfield

New York Jets head coach Todd Bowles said Tuesday that he likes what he sees from reigning Heisman Trophy recipient Baker Mayfield.

The Jets, who could be eyeing a potential franchise quarterback, moved up three spots to No. 3 and sent the No. 6 pick, two second-round selections in this draft (Nos. 37 and 49) and a second-round pick in 2019 to the Indianapolis Colts in the trade on March 17.

Could Mayfield be that quarterback for the Jets?

"You see the player, and you see the play," Bowles told reporters of Mayfield on Tuesday at the NFL meetings in Orlando, Fla. "You know the guy can play football, and he's a competitor."

The Cleveland Browns hold the first and fourth overall picks and the New York Giants have the second selection in the 2018 NFL Draft, which will be held on April 26-28 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

Rob Rang of NFLDraftScout.com has USC quarterback Sam Darnold as the top overall pick of the 2018 NFL Draft in his most recent edition of The Big Board. UCLA quarterback Josh Rosen is listed second, followed by Penn State running back Saquon Barkley, Notre Dame offensive guard Quenton Nelson and North Carolina State defensive end Bradley Chubb.

Bowles also told reporters that Mayfield's on-field bravado isn't an issue for the Jets.

"It's college football," Bowles said. "It's not for me to say or not to say. He's an emotional guy. I've seen T.O. (Terrell Owens) do a lot of things, so ... I've seen worse than that. ... Players get excited when they play. It's kind of where they are."

Bowles admitted that the team plans to look into all aspects involving Mayfield, including his arrest for public intoxication, disorderly conduct and fleeing an officer.

"We have to look deeper into all those players," Bowles said. "We really have to look deeper into all the players coming out every year. It's not just the quarterback or Baker thing. It's doing your homework on everybody. Some things happen that you can bounce back from. Some things happen where people hold it against you. But each team has to do their due diligence and do their homework and go from there."

The Jets gave Mayfield a private workout last Saturday in Oklahoma, two days after working out Rosen. Team representatives are expected to head to Wyoming next week for a private session with Josh Allen.

Mayfield, Rosen, Allen and Darnold are expected to make a pre-draft visit to the Jets' facility.

The Jets signed quarterback Josh McCown to a one-year, $10 million deal in the offseason. He joins Teddy Bridgewater, Christian Hackenberg and Bryce Petty as quarterbacks on the team.