BEREA, Ohio -- Future Hall of Fame quarterback Drew Brees, who will face the Browns on Sunday in New Orleans, paid Baker Mayfield the ultimate compliment on Wednesday.

"I think he can be a lot better than me,'' Brees said on a conference call. "Man, he's got all the tools. He's more athletic, he probably can run around better, he's got a stronger arm. Listen, he's got all the tools.''

Despite the fact Brees grew up not far from Mayfield, their paths have never crossed. But he followed the Heisman Trophy winner's career at Oklahoma nonetheless, in part because those in the 6-foot and under club stick together.



"It's funny, to this day I've never spoken with Baker,'' he said. "But he's from just outside of Austin, Texas, Lake Travis High School, I believe, which is right down the road. I followed his college career, couldn't have been more impressed with what he was able to accomplish in college, especially last year.

"Really impressed with the way that he plays his game. I think he's a great competitor. I've never met him, so I can't say I know him at all, but that's just my observations from afar. I think he's going to be a real good professional quarterback. I love his competitiveness and his playmaking ability.''

Saints coach Sean Payton admitted he spent a lot of time studying Mayfield coming out this year as a possible heir apparent to Brees, who's 39 and in his 18th season. The Saints recently traded for Teddy Bridgewater.

"(Mayfield's) someone that was very impressive,'' said Payton. "When you track his college career and you see the production, there's a confidence with him. You see real good leadership skills.

"The thing that was impressive about him is that you could see him move in the pocket and still locate balls down the field and it wasn't just take off to scramble. So he hurts you in the pocket and even with plays that developed a little later.''

With Mayfield having to wait his turn behind Tyrod Taylor, Brees said he'd advise him, "Man, be just a sponge. As a young player you try to learn everything you can about the game. And he gets to play behind a seasoned veteran like Tyrod Taylor, who's started a bunch of games in this league and won a bunch of games, that led Buffalo to the playoffs last year.



"He gets to play for a coordinator like Todd Haley, who's a longtime coordinator and been a head coach, coached Big Ben (Roethlisberger) in Pittsburgh for the last number of years, going up against a defense like Gregg Williams' every day in practice. Gregg does a lot of good things defensively, has been a great defensive coordinator in this league for a long time. So he's got the opportunity to learn from a lot of good resources there.''



Brees admitted he takes pride in paving the way for a 6-0 QB such as Mayfield to be drafted No. 1 overall.



"You know, when I came in the league, my rookie year was in San Diego in 2001 and Doug Flutie was the starting quarterback,'' he said. "So you talk about a guy who has overcome the odds every step of the way with his size and the preconceived notions people had about his ability to play the position. He played 20 years of professional football at every level, USFL, NFL, CFL, then back to the NFL and played at a very, very high level.



"So I had a chance to learn from one of the absolute best in my opinion, especially when it came to just having to at times just make plays because of your size and maybe certain limitations. He would get the job done. So I had a chance to learn from a guy like that and I owe him a lot of credit. We call it the 6-foot and under club. All the 6-foot guys, we kind of know what it's like. We kind of have the chip on our shoulder 'cause we've heard it our whole life. I just kind of chuckle at it. Maybe it is something. Maybe it isn't. But it gives us an edge."



Is Mayfield now a member of the club?



"Well, is he 6-foot and under?"



"6 5/8,'' he was told.



"All right, well, that counts,'' he said. "He's in the club."



