Cleveland, which holds an invaluable domino in its hands, is in need of an end to a constantly quarterback carousel. It’s one that’s been a proverbial revolving door since its return to the National Football League in 1999.
Actually, the Browns have two in the first 10 picks of the upcoming draft and the second consecutive No. 1 pick since choosing Arlington Martin’s Myles Garrett in 2016.
According to recent reports by Monday Morning Quarterback’s Peter King and the Cleveland Plain-Dealer’s Mary Kay Cabot, new Browns GM John Dorsey is taking an in-depth look in the booming state of Oklahoma and at a quarterback with Texas roots to define one of those dominoes.
A Cavalier that wowed coaches and scouts during five days of Senior Bowl practices.
A man that completed three of his seven pass attempts for nine yards in Saturday’s Senior Bowl before leaving the game at halftime to visit his mother, Gina, who was in the hospital with an undisclosed medical issue, per the Sun Sentinel.
Baker Reagan Mayfield.
Baker Mayfield showing off some of the skills that saw him finish the season as our highest graded QB in the nation on the first day of #SeniorBowl practice yesterday pic.twitter.com/PyaeuGKUbR
— PFF (@PFF) January 24, 2018
“Every young man will make a mistake in his life, I bet you,” Dorsey said in the Plain-Dealer report about Mayfield’s arrest last year for public intoxication and disorderly conduct. “And I think he’s very remorseful of that mistake and I think he’s moved forward from that, and he’s trying to make himself a better person, going through the process.”
He’s distanced himself from comparisons to Johnny Manziel, a former quarterback out of Kerrville Tivy High School and Texas A&M University and a failed NFL project with an infamous resume. Unlike Manziel, who’s negative exploits led to him plummeting to the Browns’ No. 22 pick in 2014, Mayfield has risen from a mid-round prospect to a viable first-pick option.
It wasn’t only the stats but an award line that’s bolstered Mayfield’s rise. He not only won the Heisman Trophy, he won five other major college football awards.
RELATED: Lake Travis’ Baker Mayfield Buoys Legend with Fifth Season Award
Photo by foxsports.com
That included the Davey O’Brien, Maxwell and Walter Camp Player of the Year Awards. He was also named Associated Press and Sporting News Player of the Year. They are all awards Manziel won during his 2012 freshman season.
That’s more than USC’s Sam Darnold, UCLA’s Josh Rosen, and Wyoming’s Josh Allen combined.
Mayfield also has four years of major conference starting experience during his single season at Texas Tech and three at Oklahoma. Darnold and Rosen each have two. Allen has none.
Since Sept. 2, Mayfield has out performed Allen, Darnold, and Rosen. They are the three men projected to have their names called befor the 6-foot play creator. The elder quarterback threw for more yards (4,627) and touchdowns (43) in the final year of his collegiate career. Mayfield also experienced higher levels of success — two conference championships and Orange, Sugar, and Rose Bowl berths — as the face of collegiate football in Norman.
Reasons detailed by Yahoo Sports’ Charles Robinson may also illustrate why Dorsey — who’s only been in his current position since the middle of 2017 — may want the mercurial Austin-area quarterback.
Mark J. Rebilas/USA TODAY Sports
Former Washington Redskins GM Scot McCloughan is a big fan of the former Lake Travis and Texas Tech gunslinger and soon-to-be ex-Sooner. He, too, was a sounding board for Dorsey during Senior Bowl Week. It’s also the man who said NFL starter Kirk Cousins “isn’t special” but seemingly thinks Mayfield is.
McCloughan is also a supporter of Mayfield’s “cocksure” and “never out of it” attitude, one that supposedly matches the type of mentality and culture the Browns’ GM wants to cultivate in Cleveland.
“He reminds me of a shorter version of Brett Farve. He can throw it,” McCloughan said during Fox Sports’ Doug Gottlieb Show in November. “He’s very confident. he’s not afraid whatsoever. He’s a battler.”
If Cleveland did choose Mayfield as the new poster boy for its franchise, it would be the first Texas quarterback chosen No. 1 since Indianapolis took Houston Stratford’s Andrew Luck in 2012. He would also be the fourth quarterback taken in the last six years.
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Marcus Matthews-Marion is the managing editor of TexasHSFootball, covering prep football throughout the Lone Star State and collegiate and professional football throughout the country. Follow him on Twitter, @TheMJMatthews, and read more of his content here.
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