Baker Mayfield developing into Cleveland Browns franchise QB

The Cleveland Browns are doing a great job of developing Baker Mayfield.

First, the Cleveland Browns beat the Philadelphia Eagles 22-17. Just wanted to remind everyone that the Browns won. Cleveland is now 7-3 and very much in the playoff hunt. This fact seems to be forgotten amidst all the chatter about whether or not quarterback Baker Mayfield is the franchise quarterback.

There was a time when Browns victories were so rare that we fans used to jump up and down celebrating each victory. It was like each win was a Super Bowl win. But now that the Browns are starting to win consistently, some fans have found ways to turn a win into a loss. Or find fault in a win to make it feel like a loss.

After the October 18th game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, I messaged the Dawg Pound Daily writers group that I was “done with Baker”. I was convinced after watching that game that there was no way he was going to succeed in the NFL. I have since changed my mind. Without running back Nick Chubb or wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr., Baker began to take the reins of the offense and make it his own.

Is he a finished product? Absolutely not. Has he done enough to earn some respect around the league? Absolutely. In a recent article by Timothy Rapp on Bleacher Report, he states that there would be a market for Baker should he be made available. Other teams are interested because he is a good quarterback.

Mayfield is coming of age right before our eyes. Every good player has an origin story. Baker has his. If you are not careful, you might miss it.

Addressing Complaints

One of the major complaints about Baker’s play is that he doesn’t step up into the pocket. Instead, he likes to leave the pocket to the right. This has been a legitimate concern. It’s no secret that Baker has, at times, scanned his first read then escaped out the right of the pocket creating problems.

But Mayfield no longer does those things. He stays in the pocket and scans through multiple reads. The Baker haters complained about the pocket bolting. But now that he stays in the pocket, they have moved on to the next complaint.

Another complaint is that Mayfield doesn’t climb the pocket. Yes, this has been a concern for anyone watching the Browns. At one time, Baker had inconsistent drops, then would sit at the bottom of his drop. If his first read wasn’t open he would bail out the right. But now, he no longer stands at the bottom of his drops. He will climb the pocket in an attempt to get through his reads.

People complain that Baker is a one-read quarterback. At one point, Baker might have been a one-read and bail from the pocket player. But a smart fan watching these games now see Baker progress through his reads. This also links to climbing the pocket. As he climbs the pocket he is looking at his different receivers.

There was a complaint that Mayfield always tried to throw the ball long and not hit his check down receivers. Again a simple watching the games now sees Baker hitting his second and third receivers. He will read his options but if there his nothing available he will hit his check down options. Or No. 6 will throw the ball away instead of trying to force the issue to a receiver downfield.

But addressing complaints is not enough. Baker is developing into the franchise quarterback right before our eyes. But sadly, when Mayfield fixes one issue, fans seem to just progress to the next issue.