Cleveland Browns: Tyrod Taylor, Baker Mayfield share similar traits

Following the Cleveland Browns’ first preseason game, it is apparent that Tyrod Taylor and Baker Mayfield share a common attribute that fans are not used to.

Following the Cleveland Browns’ 20-10 victory over the New York Giants on Thursday night, one of the biggest takeaways was the strong quarterback play on the Cleveland side of the ball.

As the starter, Tyrod Taylor did not get a lot of work, but still put together a strong stat line, completing all five passes he attempted for 99 yards and a touchdown.

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Working with the second-team and playing for a large portion of the game, first overall pick Baker Mayfield put together one of the best games that a rookie played this week. Mayfield completed 11 of the 20 passes he attempted for 212 yards and two touchdowns. He also had some key runs to keep drives going, rushing for 13 yards on three attempts.

But both Taylor and Mayfield showed something that will be a welcomed sight for Browns fans: pinpoint accuracy. Both quarterbacks were not afraid to sling the ball all over the field, and worked a lot with throws to the sidelines.

The Browns had the quarterbacks take some chances downfield and were not trying to give them an easy game. But most of the times that Taylor and Mayfield put the ball downfield, they had the perfect amount of touch on the ball.

One of the best throws that Taylor made in his short appearance was his 36-yard touchdown pass to David Njoku. Njoku had a step on the linebacker covering him, but had the safety coming over to try and make a play. Taylor put the perfect amount of touch on the ball to get it over the linebacker, but didn’t put too much air under the ball, which would have given the safety a chance to make a play on the ball.

But Taylor wasn’t the only Browns quarterback that made a pinpoint pass with the right amount of touch to Njoku that went for a touchdown.

In Mayfield’s second drive of the game, he threw a pass to Njoku into double-coverage in the back of the end-zone. For as bad as that sounds, Mayfield put a good amount of touch on the ball and sailed it into a spot where only Njoku could make a play on the ball, resulting in a touchdown.

Both quarterbacks are showing that they can put the ball wherever they want and understand the amount of touch they need to put on the ball. And they still are able to do that when they take chances downfield.

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Yes, it was only a preseason game, and Browns fans have seen a lot of quarterbacks dominate the preseason and then struggle once the regular season starts. But the accuracy that Taylor and Mayfield possess will not change like the other Browns quarterbacks in the past. Their accuracy is exactly why Browns fans should be excited for the future of the quarterback position.

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