Daily Dawg Tags: Baker Mayfield had “it” factor
By Randy Gurzi
Daily Dawg Tags brings you all the news you need to know to keep up to date with your Cleveland Browns. Today we look at why they chose Baker Mayfield.
It’s always entertaining to me how the most tight-lipped people in the NFL suddenly get chatty when the draft is over. Up until the morning of the 2018 NFL Draft, the Cleveland Browns kept their intentions with the No. 1 pick a complete secret.
That morning rumors were flying everywhere that it would be Mayfield. However, everyone was so sure it would be USC quarterback Sam Darnold that they thought the Browns were just throwing out smokescreen.
Of course, that made absolutely no sense because they were drafting first overall, so who was this preverbal smokescreen tricking? Th non-existent team drafting at zero? Still, the Browns were so quiet about their pick that once it came out, everyone thought that had to be a trick.
Fast forward to a couple days after the draft and suddenly the Browns — and everyone else — seem ready to talk. There have been reports of many other teams ranking Mayfield as the No. 1 guy and now the Browns are telling us why they were high on him. Basically it boiled down to him having that “it” factor you need in a team leader.
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"On Monday, Browns V.P. of player personnel Alonzo Highsmith spoke at the Pro Football Hall of Fame Luncheon Club on Monday, offering a candid assessment of why his opinion flipped from Sam Darnold to Baker Mayfield."
"But they weren’t the only ones. Of the 12 teams I’ve heard back from so far, four had Baker as their QB1, and two more gave me a strong indication that he was. Another league source named two other teams that he believes had him No. 1."
NFL News
Which team won the 2018 NFL Draft? Broncos, Bears, Giants lead the pack — NFL.com
Next: So Baker isn't Manziel 2.0?
"The Broncos won the draft, thanks to a need for quarterbacks and this year’s once-in-a-generation running back, which allowed Bradley Chubb to fall to them at No. 5. I mean, if you walk away with the best player in the draft in the five-hole, then you have to feel rather fortunate. To put it mildly."