Cleveland Browns: 5 pleasant surprises heading into Preseason Week 2

Baker Mayfield’s comfort under center

The team is adamant that Tyrod Taylor is the starting quarterback for the Cleveland Browns. And that makes sense because Taylor is a capable quarterback who was perfect in his debut. He’s probably the best player they’ve had under center since returning to the NFL in 1999.

All that can be true, while also still being excited about what No. 1 overall pick Baker Mayfield showed. The rookie was exciting in his first game. He was throwing great passes, making quick decisions, and had a couple touchdown passes with no turnovers. That doesn’t mean he was perfect though.

For instance, check out this video where former NFL quarterback Dan Orlovsky breaks down a play where Mayfield could have been just a little better, which shows he does have some learning to do at this level still. In this video, Mayfield scrambles for a fourth-down conversion but had to make the play with his legs after not setting things up correctly beforehand. It’s picking things apart, and not a knock on Baker at all. Instead, it just highlights what the team is thinking.

We should all still be thrilled about Mayfield, but the best part was how comfortable he looked under center. While playing at Oklahoma, one of the knocks was that he played in a shotgun offense for most of his career. Against the Giants, we saw him take some snaps from there and he looked smooth and natural.

While the little things will come, we need to be excited about the future with Mayfield, who is looking like a pro quarterback even if he’s not yet the starter.