Transcript: Javon Baker Draft Press Conference
JB: People don't know this, but when Drake Maye was committed to Alabama at first, we always used to practice and throw around. So, me and Drake Maye got a connection going on. Drake Maye, I think, in my opinion, is the best quarterback in this draft, so when we connect again, it's going to be a good connection.
JB: Competitive and trying to get the ball in whatever spots I ask him to put it, he'd put it there. So, he'd be just competitive, a competitive quarterback, and that's what I like in a quarterback. He is somebody that could push me, and I'll push him.
JB: Honestly, just being a part of that organization, I know it is a winning mentality, just like how it was at Alabama. Just winning, like everybody likes winning. It wouldn't be a better opportunity and a better place to go to than this place, so I just can't wait.
JB: I didn't reach out to him when he got drafted, but as soon as I got drafted, he reached out to me. We just texted "congrats" and "let's get to work." JP, Ja'Lynn Polk, we've been working out this whole offseason and whole process, so we got a connection going on too. So, just us three alone is bringing back the winning mentality that everybody likes in Boston.
Q: You talked about that connection. Do you feel like this is a very good place for you to land with the two players that you were saying that about?
Q: Based off your background, transferring to UCF, how much would you say there is a chip on your shoulder? And how much does the stuff that has happened to you in the past drive you?
JB: Honestly, there is always going to be a chip on my shoulder, no matter what. I'm so driven, so I know how it feels to be behind somebody, and I know how it feels to be (at) the bottom of the depth chart. So, I'm always going to have a chip on my shoulder regardless.
JB: Prove them everything. Prove to them what I can do. Prove to them I can do everything as a receiver. I would do anything to win, like just prove them that. Honestly, I am a team player and I want to prove to the team that I am one of them.
Q: You talked to Steve Smith before the draft a little bit about your game, and you said that once the ball is in your hand, you can change the game. What is it about what you do that can change the game?
JB: My mentality. I am a receiver. I don't do anything but receive the ball. I don't care if that ball is thrown out of bounds at the sideline, I'm going to receive the ball. So, at the end of the day, it's that right there. My mentality is just different from any other receiver. I can get down and dirty, I can do anything. So, that right there, my mentality alone can just do anything as a receiver.
Q: Before the draft, Eliot Wolf mentioned that the team didn't really have a true X [receiver], the guy who can line up on the backside and win in one-on-one coverage. It seemed like that was a place you had a lot of success in college, so do you feel like you can be that guy for this offense?
JB: Yeah, my relationship with Cam Newton is like a big brother relationship. Before the draft, we were just talking, and he was just telling me to just keep my head down and keep working. And I talked to him about Boston, because when I was doing the visit, I was talking to a lot of people about Cam and saying a lot of good things about Cam. I was just telling them, relaying the message and stuff like that. We were just laughing about it, but that's really it.
