Mr. Franchise

For the first time since the days of Bernie Kosar, the Browns have a franchise quarterback. Baker Mayfield has captivated The Land with his confident swagger, aggressive play, and outspoken leadership. When Baker first walked onto the field against the New York Jets in week 3, everyone watching the game could sense a major shift in the tone of that game and the energy of the franchise. Baker Mayfield came out slinging the ball with no hesitation, in stark contrast to what we had previously seen with Tyrod Taylor.

This man was ready to play and be the guy he needed to be in order to lead the Browns this Season. Veterans Drew Stanton and Tyrod Taylor have helped him learn the ropes of being an NFL quarterback, but Baker also learned a lot from the adversity that he faced going into his college career. Baker didn’t receive scholarship offers from many power 5 programs, so in order to play competitive football he walked on at Texas Tech. By the end of his freshman season Baker had shown his abilities and that he was worth a scholarship. His coaches at Texas Tech didn’t see it that way, so Baker walked on at Oklahoma and showed the football watching world that he was an elite college quarterback with a fiery personality that gave him a competitive edge. When Baker went into the draft he was viewed as an undersized quarterback who hadn’t played great defenses in the Big 12. Even with all the doubt thrown his way the Browns elected to take him with the first overall pick in the 2018 NFL draft.  Baker has taken on all the criticism he has received and used it as fuel to the burning fire in his soul.

Today the Browns are 4-6-1 and still have slight playoff aspirations, due in large part to Baker’s leadership and play on the field. He has ignited the hopes for a bright future in Cleveland and has given our team the most stability at the quarterback position that we have had in decades. We are watching a man rewrite the wrongs of history in Cleveland as we move forward into a new day and age for Cleveland sports.