Drew Brees on Baker Mayfield: 'He can be a lot better than me'

Cleveland Browns No. 1 overall pick Baker Mayfield hasn’t taken a single NFL regular season snap yet, but one future Hall of Fame quarterback is extremely high on the rookie. New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees heaped praise on Mayfield on Wednesday, saying he thinks Mayfield can be “a lot better than me.”

Brees made those comments on a conference call with reporters in the lead-up to the Saints’ Week 2 matchup against the Browns. He was not shy about praising the rookie.

That is quite the statement. Over the past 18 seasons, Brees has established himself as one of the best quarterbacks in football. He’s thrown for over 70,000 yards, tossed 491 touchdowns, made 11 Pro Bowls and has a Super Bowl ring. Once he retires, Brees will waltz into the Hall of Fame.

Saying Mayfield can be “a lot better” than Brees pretty much means Mayfield can be the best quarterback of all-time, because it’s extremely hard to be “a lot better” than Drew Brees. The 39-year-old Brees may be severely underestimating his own skills.

Still, that’s the type of quote that makes people take notice. There’s a reason Mayfield was selected as the No. 1 overall pick. If one of the best quarterbacks in the game can recognize the talent Mayfield possesses, that bodes well for his future.

Brees won’t have an opportunity to see Mayfield’s talent up close just yet. The rookie is still squarely behind Tyrod Taylor on the Browns’ depth chart.

That’s not necessarily a bad thing. Brees only played in one game during his rookie season and that worked out pretty well for him.

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Chris Cwik is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at christophercwik@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Chris_Cwik

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